There is no Light
by KateBB7
Summary: An accident gives Jamie the opportunity to work under cover. But is he experienced enough to help Danny take down the ring of organ harvesters and traffickers and staying alive in the process? Independent. Now completed.
1. Chapter 1

_Here is another one for you! And don't worry - haven't forgot about the 'Calling Out' that I promised you. I'm so excited about this piece and I really hope you will enjoy it. So, here it goes! Good night._

 **There is no Light**

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 8:00 am, 12** **th** **precinct**

"Stay safe, stay hydrated. Dismissed," Renzulli barked at his officers at roll call. He had unbuttoned the top of his shirt like so many others and waved a piece of paper at his face, like so many others. Every cop in the room was saving their energy and they all had a bottle of water in their hands. Jamie was leaning against the frame of the open door. All windows were open and a lazy breeze flew through the precinct. They all hurried out, hoping it would be cooler outside the assembly room. Eddie found Jamie waiting for her down the hallway.

"God forbid any running or chasing perps down the street today," Eddie exclaimed with her flushed face when the heat hit them outside the precinct. It was only morning, and the sun was already mercilessly baking the city. Like yesterday, the trunk of the car had been filled with boxes of water bottles, ready to hand out on the street.

"Just be ready for anything," Jamie replied when he started the engine and drove out on the streets of New York.

"This is killing me," Eddie sighed and turned on the air condition in the car. She drank greedily from her own bottle of water and rested it on her forehead to cool down.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get this vest of," Jamie conceded and tried to sit more comfortable in the car. They drove down the streets that were filled with people in the bare minimum of clothing. It didn't take long for the radio to scatter for the first time on their shift.

" _Central to 12-David,_ " the familiar voice rattled over the radio. Jamie pushed the button to answer.

"Go ahead for 12-David," he said, waiting for the answer. Eddie took another small sip of her bottle.

" _Please respond to a call from 130 West 15_ _th_ _Street, apartment 4B,_ " the voice said. Jamie crooked his eyebrows.

"10-4. What is the situation?" Jamie asked the dispatcher and Eddie looked just as confused as he was.

" _Unknown, the caller is silent,_ " the reply came in after a few seconds. Jamie didn't like that at all.

"Show us responding," he said and the scatter died down.

"That's weird," Eddie commented. She too had that eerie feeling. Shortly after they arrived and found their way to the stairs. The front desk was currently unmanned. It was exhausting to climb the stairs in this heat. Both of them had broken out a sweat when they reached the fourth floor.

"Here it is," Eddie stated and ran her arm over her glistening forehead. Jamie knocked on the door and both of them rested their hands on the butt of their weapons.

"Police! Open up!" Jamie's yelling resulted in another door opening and a young woman peered out from the next door over.

"Go back inside, please," Eddie told her with a lifted hand. Jamie knocked on the door again. A muffled sound of something being knocked over reached their ears and they instinctively drew their weapons.

"Police! We are coming in!" Eddie yelled when Jamie tried the door handle with no luck. Jamie stepped back to breach the door with a kick and a second later they were in, sweeping through the rooms. They walked into an entree, Eddie went right into the kitchen and Jamie continued straight ahead into the living room. Jamie holstered his gun when he saw the two people in front of him. An old man was lying on the floor, his body flailing and jerking around. The young teenage girl had curled up into a corner, terrified, with tears streaming down her face.

"Eddie, in here! Call a bus!" he called out to his partner when he dropped to the floor next to the jolting man. It was small muscle spasms, but when Jamie tried to open the man's bleeding mouth, he was surprised by the power of them. Eddie popped up next to him and Jamie jumped to the other side.

"Bus is on the way," Eddie commented and tried to keep the man's arms still.

"We have to tilt him, so he doesn't drown in his own blood," Jamie said. They both knew it was possible when the jaw muscles started to cramp, resulting in the teeth biting the chin, lips or tongue. Blood flooded out between the teeth and Jamie glanced at the girl. There was a phone on the floor next to her. Eddie caught his glance.

"I got this," she mumbled and steadied the old man. Jamie nodded to her and turned to the girl. She flinched when he reached out to her.

"Hi… what's your name?" Jamie asked and drew his hand back. The girl didn't reply but pointed to her ear and throat. Jamie nodded and thought hard. "Do you know what I am saying?" he asked carefully and the girl nodded. She must have taught herself to read lips, Jamie concluded. "Okay… I'm Jamie, this is my partner Eddie. Did you call 9-1-1?" Jamie asked and the girl nodded again. "You did great, an ambulance is on its way. Is this your granddad?" Jamie tried to keep the girls attention on him and now he could hear the sirens coming closer. Once again the girl nodded and Jamie crept forward a bit. "Can you spell your name for me?" he then asked and the girl hesitated before drawing letters on the floor with her finger. "Jessica Swan?" Jamie read the invisible letters and the girl nodded eagerly. When her eyes darted to the door behind Jamie he turned his head to see two paramedics walk through it. Not a minute later, they had injected the man with a sedative and his muscles started to relax. The man was soon after loaded into the back of the waiting ambulance. Eddie and Jamie had followed the paramedics down and Jessica had clung to Jamie since they left the apartment, not letting go of his hand.

"Officers, is she coming?" one of the paramedics asked and nodded to the girl. Jessica looked up at Jamie and he gave her a tight smile and nodded.

"Go with them. They'll take care of you," he told her and she nodded. Hesitantly she gave Jamie a quick hug and then crawled into the ambulance. Jamie and Eddie watched it, as it drove away.

"Look at that, Reagan-kid-magnet," Eddie laughed when they walked to their car. "It must be that patience of the Reagan-family, you have inherited," she continued when they drove off. Jamie smiled at the comment. All the Reagan's had the patience of saints, except for Danny, whose temper had gone in the completely opposite direction.

"It could be…" Jamie started when they crossed the intersection at the green light. A honking car made them both turn their heads to the left, where they just had time enough to see the panel van before it collided with their car in a harrowing crush. Jamie wasn't quick enough to do anything and the van sent their car sideways on screeching tires before it came to rest, with another collision, against the nose of another car, waiting for the green light.

"Jamie…" Eddie coughed when she came to, about ten seconds later. She lifted her hand to her aching temple and she could feel the sticky, warm blood trickle down her fingers. She could see the blood on the window where her head had rested and grunted, confused and dazed. Jamie groaned next to her and she turned her head, slowly, to take a look at him. "Reagan, wake up…" she huffed when she turned in her seat and her face cringed in pain. She lifted her hand to her shoulder radio. "12-David to Central," she started and moaned when her ribs moved.

" _Go ahead, 12-David,_ " came the response promptly.

"Someone drove into our car in the intersection at…" she paused and looked around. "… West 15th Street and 7th Avenue. I need paramedics and the fire department. Two civilian vehicles involved. My…" she had to pause once more when a wave of pain rushed over her. "My partner is unresponsive," she breathed in heavily and winched at the pain in her side.

" _Copy that, 12-David, help is on the way,_ " the dispatcher replied. Despite the pain Eddie reached over to the crook in Jamie's neck to feel for a pulse. She sighed relieved when it was strong and steady. Shattered glass from the window in Jamie's door were scattered over them, some of them were covered in blood.

"Jamie, open your eyes for me," she mumbled when she tried to open her door with no luck. "Come on, Reagan, I do not have the patience of a Reagan, open your eyes," Eddie continued. She suppressed the pain and unbuckled her seatbelt. Finally she could hear sirens closing in. Jamie heard them too and groaned again before he lifted his head vaguely.

"Ed…" he mumbled and looked around with hazy eyes.

"Don't move too much, Reagan. How's your head?" Eddie said and put a hand on his forearm to keep him still. No need to try his door either, the van was still blocking it.

"Throbbing," he sighed and lifted a hand to his temple, like Eddie had done. His fingers came away red and sticky too. An ambulance came into their view and stopped, more sirens were growing. Two paramedics exited and jogged to the cruiser, trapped between the two other cars. It proved to be somewhat of a challenge to come anywhere close enough for the paramedics to treat the two cops. Especially when two cars were blocking the way. One of them pointed his partner to take care of the woman in the car to Eddie's right. A middle aged woman who had staggered to the sidewalk. By passers had taken care of her and she was sitting on the curbside in the baking sun. The other paramedic leaned in between the front of the van and the front left wheel of the cruiser.

"Hello, Officers, how's your day?" the young man said with a brave smile. Jamie couldn't hold back the smile. "I'm Gregg, and my partner over there is Pete," the young man told them.

"Nice to meet you, Greg," Eddie grunted. The young man looked at her, calmly.

"We're just waiting for the fire department, so we can get you out. Have you been unconscious?" he asked them and Eddie nodded.

"Ten seconds here and about two minutes there," she said and gesticulated to herself and then Jamie.

"All right. Can you feel your toes and wriggle them?" Both of the officers nodded. "Any broken bones, sharp pain or anything?" he continued.

"Head, left shoulder and knee hurts like hell," Jamie replied and tried not to move too much.

"I think, I might have a couple of busted ribs and a bad headache," Eddie said afterwards.

"Okay, stay put, you'll be out in no time. I'll come back to check up on you in a few, all right?" Greg asked and nodded once before he left them.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 9:00 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

"Detectives Reagan and Baez," lieutenant Carver called when she approached their desks. The mentioned detectives looked up from their paperwork and Danny leaned back in his chair.

"Good morning, to you too, Lieutenant," Danny smirked and received a glare from his boss. He didn't like the temperatures and it made him edgy, because it reminded him of his days under the scolding sun in Fallujah.

"Ten minutes ago a van t-boned a black and white from the 12th. Responding units found a bleeding cooler box in the back of the van," Carver told them. Danny's face had turned into a shade of grey. "No word on the officers yet, Reagan. The fire department is working on access to them.

"Bleeding?" Baez asked curiously, referring to the box.

"Paramedics found a fresh liver inside," Carver revealed with raised brows, as if impressed. "Now go," she rushed at them and the two detectives left their desks in seconds. As they made their way down the streets to the where it all happened Danny dialed his kid brother on his phone. When he didn't get an answer his fists tightened around the steering wheel. His knuckles turned white and when they arrived, he could feel the tension all the way out in his fingertips. A cruiser was trapped between a white panel van with the door in the driver's side opened. A cherry red sedan was on the right of the cruiser, door opened as well. Its front was wrinkled from where it had connected with the cruiser. Firefighters had pulled the car back and the door in the passenger side of the cruiser was opened. Now they were working on moving the van backwards. Two pairs of paramedics worked together on the cruiser.

"Detectives," a familiar, female voice called from the back of an ambulance. Danny and Baez turned to see Eddie sitting in the back of it and Danny was now convinced it was his brother who was in the cruiser.

"Eddie, what happened? Are you okay?" Baez asked and immediately changed directions. Danny lifted a hand and walked closer to the cruiser where half a dozen firefighters were working on getting the door opened.

"Danny," he heard his brother's voice through all the machinery before he saw him. And the sight scared him. The left side of his head was covered in red blood and he was wearing a neck brace. Jamie even managed to give him a smile but Danny could still see the pain in his eyes.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 9:15 am, One Police Plaza**

Sid Gormley nodded to Detective Baker when he passed her desk outside the Commissioner's corner office. He knocked twice and entered immediately.

"Turn on the news," he said dryly, when Frank glared at him for his entrance.

"What is this about?" Frank asked and turned on the TV with the remote.

" _…_ _see here, is a very big presence of the police department, the fire department and paramedics, down on West 15_ _th_ _Street and 7_ _th_ _Avenue. The traffic light is currently blocked because of a car accident, involving an NYPD patrol car and two civilian vehicles. Eye witnesses say the van ran a red light and collided with the patrol car and continued into the sedan at the other side of the intersection. The driver of the sedan looked to by shocked and passers bys were quickly to take care of the woman. The driver from the van is now handcuffed after additional police made a startling discovery in the back of the van. Both officers have been extracted from the damaged patrol car and they are now en route to the hospital. There seem to be a lot of activity at the back of the van. Stay tuned for more updates. Back to the studio._ " Frank muted the TV and his stoic face didn't show anything. The news reporter had been filmed the scene as it unfolded and Frank had spotted Danny and his partner, Baez, in the background talking with Officer Janko in the back of an ambulance.

"Jamie?" Frank asked Gormley when his phone rang. That was answer enough. Once more the door opened and Garrett walked in, his face flustered and his hand clutching his own phone.

"I guess you've seen the news?" Garrett asked Frank when he answered his phone.

"Danny," Frank said. "I know, it's on the news… how is he?.. what?.. I'll be there soon. You concentrate on the case," Frank said and ended the call. He pushed the button on the intercom. "Baker, have my detail ready in one minute. St. Vincent's. Reschedule my meetings.

"At ten to nine the van ran a red light and collided with the cruiser," Gormley starts. "One minute later, Officer Janko calls it in. Three minutes later EMT's, PD and FD have arrived. The civilians are roughed up, bumps and bruises. But when the FD opens the back of the van and finds a cooler box the whole thing is turned into a crime scene. You know what was in the box?" Gormley asked Frank who nodded.

"What was in it?" Garrett asked, curious to what caused his phone to keep buzzing.

"A liver. Freshly harvested, the EMT's estimate," Gormley says and shakes of the chills.

"This is going to be a nightmare," Garrett mumbled when Frank stood, ready to leave.

 _What do you think about this story line? Leave a comment, point out my mistakes, everything would make my day._


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello! Here is the second chapter :) Have fun._

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 10:30 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

Danny walked to his desk with a cup of coffee in each hand. He handed one of them to Baez and sat down.

"So… the liver is from a healthy person with blood type A-positive," Baez started and sipped at her coffee. Danny moped.

"That narrows it right down to… what? Three million people in the city of New York," Danny sighed and swallowed down his coffee. Baez glanced at him for a second. He didn't notice.

"The medical examiner's estimated time of removal was no more than half an hour before the crash. The temperature hadn't quite leveled out with the cooler box yet," Baez continued. Danny figured it out the math.

"Thirty minutes tops can't get you of Manhattan in the morning traffic. The liver must have been removed somewhere close to the crash site. It was heading north on 7th Avenue, so that narrows it down to Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca and Chinatown," Danny mentioned.

"If we can get footage from traffic cams on 7th, maybe we can figure out where it came from," Baez continued his line of thought and lifted the phone to make a call.

"I'll check out missing person's reports filed in the same areas," Danny said and started typing on his computer.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:45 am, St. Vincent's**

Jamie buttoned up the shirt of his blood smeared uniform with one hand. His left arm had been placed in a sling because his shoulder had been dislocated. The outside of his left knee had turned into some kind of purple color and fortunately he had only suffered a minor concussion. He had been through X-rays, MRI's, CT-scans, everything. He grabbed his vest, opened the door and headed out to sign himself out. Frank had arrived at the emergency room only a few minutes after Jamie and Eddie and he was still waiting. Jamie limped slowly to the front desk to sign out.

"Officer Reagan, right?" the grey haired nurse asked after glancing at the battered man's uniform. Jamie nodded silent. What gave him away, he wondered. She started typing on her computer and then placed a piece of paper and a pen in front of him.

"Sign here, please," the nurse said and pointed to the line at the bottom. "Oh, and this is for you. Your friend told me, to tell you, to expect a call tonight," the nurse said and placed a burner phone next to the paper. Jamie looked at it, confused.

"I'm sorry, who?" he asked and the nurse looked up again, almost irritated.

"Some man came in here, and asks for 'the guy in the crash with the cop car'. I asked for the name and then he gave me the phone and the orders and said that he was in a hurry," the nurse explained. Jamie flipped open the phone and then closed it again.

"What did the man look like?" he asked and the nurse shrugged.

"Thirties, dark hair, some weird accent, scar over his right eye," the nurse replied. "And he only had nine fingers," she continued and looked at the phone when it rang. "Excuse me," she mumbled and with that, the conversation was over. Jamie signed the paper and grabbed the phone. He didn't know anyone of that description and yet he stuffed the phone in his pocket. Frank had been waiting for Jamie in the outer area of the waiting rooms. His detail wasn't far away either.

"Ready to go home?" Frank asked his quieted son, who simply nodded. They all moved outside in the baking sun and towards the commissioner's vehicle. Frank didn't have to ask him how he was.

"I'm sure Pop is already cooking for dinner," Frank mentioned when they sat in the car and it took off.

"I think, I'll just stay home, if you don't mind," Jamie peeped as innocent as possible. He just needed to sleep in his own bed. Frank glanced at him and nodded.

"Of course," he replied and told the driver. Soon after they turned north on 5th Avenue.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 2:30 pm, 54** **th** **precinct**

Danny squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, remembering, thinking, connecting the dots. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"No possible missing persons," he muttered to his partner when she came back to the desk.

"I don't even know how you can drink such coffee… It's so thick that you can stand a spoon in it," she commented and took a sip of her own. Danny appreciated the gesture and he like the coffee.

"There's nothing like a good black coffee to wake you up," he simply commented with a smile. "How's the traffic cams coming along?" he asked, when he stood and stretched.

"Zilch, so far," she replied and clicked her mouse. She looked down, wondering. "Who needs a liver?" she asked and both of them went into brain storming mode, as they leaned forward in their chairs.

"Anyone, who suffers from a liver disease," Danny responded and looked up. "Long-term alcoholism, cirrhosis…" he grumbled.

"Who would benefit for it?" she asked and took another sip of her tasty coffee.

"The recipient? Or…" Danny trailed off. "Or whoever is selling it. How much is a liver worth on the black market?" he asked his partner and she quickly shrugged before she started typing on her computer.

"Hundred and fifty thousand dollars," she exclaimed, rather surprised. "That's more than I make in a year," Baez leaned back, shaking her head. Danny pulled out his phone from his pocket and hit speed dial.

" _Hey Danny,_ " Linda replied and he could clearly hear the smile in her voice.

"Hey babe, how is your day?" he started out, when he too leaned back.

" _You know, it's a Monday, people are tired and they get clumsy. What do you need?_ " she asked and Danny could hear her walking around.

"Who says I need anything? Can't I just call my wife to ask her how she's doing?" Danny erupted, half angry, half guilty, but nonetheless with a smile in his voice. She knew him too well. Baez looked at him with that look, only raised eyebrows could give, that said it all. "All right, all right, I need some insider knowledge on liver transplantations," he huffed and Linda chuckled. Baez smiled and restrained her own chuckle.

" _Is this about the car that crashed into Jamie and Eddie?_ " she asked, her voice a little lower. The background noise disappeared too. Wrinkles came alive on Danny's forehead. How could she know, he wondered. " _Rumors and speculations from the paramedics,_ " Linda explained as if she heard his question.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath and could only imagine what would happen if the news got a hold of that information. They would have a field day, he thought. "All right… anything you can tell me about liver transplantation?" he asked and rubbed the bridge of his nose again.

" _Well… nationwide, there are about 15.000 people, who need a liver or part of a liver. The main reasons for a liver transplant is Cirrhosis, any kind of injury, alcoholism, chronic hepatitis and cancer. Some children with digestive issues, too. Seventy five percent of the recipients live more than five years after a transplant. Uhm… the surgery takes about ten hours and normally about five people to do it. The donor and the recipient have to be of the same blood type and the recovery takes about three weeks,_ " she said, and waited for a reply. " _Does that help you?_ " she asked after a second.

"Yeah, maybe, thanks Linda," Danny said thoughtfully when he heard the distant alarm going off. Linda quickly excusedæ2 herself and Danny lowered the phone. Baez looked at him, expectantly and he gave her the quick run-down.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 6:00 pm, Flatiron District**

Jamie was resting his head on the back of the couch. He was so damn sore, that even the thought of moving just an inch made his head hurt. He sighed and cringed when he heard three slow knocks on the door and considered the options. First option was for him to open the door. Second option was for the guest to open the door, except they needed a key. He was already limping to the door when another, more persistent, knock rushed him along.

"Come on, Reagan, what did I tell you about my patience?" Eddie said through the door, and Jamie smiled when he opened it. They looked each other over and Eddie nodded satisfied when she tenderly walked past him.

"How are you?" Jamie asked her and hobbled along after closing the door. He had stopped questioning her, why she sometimes arrived unannounced.

"Painkillers started to wear off and my ribs are killing me," she grumbled and carefully sat down on the couch. Jamie detoured to the fridge before returning to sit next to her. He handed her a beer without a word. "You read my mind, Reagan," she sighed and took a swig from the bottle.

"Great minds think alike," he said and clinked her bottle. They sat in silence for a few seconds until the unfamiliar ring tune filled the room. Eddie looked at him, surprised, when he produced the new phone. They both stared at it until Jamie answered it and put it on speaker. A buzzing sound filled the open line.

" _Hello?_ " a voice grumbled. Jamie turned to look at Eddie, her eyes wide.

"Who is this?" Jamie asked calmly, his eyes fixing on the phone.

" _We lost hundred and fifty grand because of you,_ " the voice almost yelled. It was deep and reverberating and left Jamie with a mental picture of a huge man with a lot of authority. " _You are one lucky bastard, Skeet. The Chief is in a good mood today, so he doesn't want your head on a silver platter first thing in the morning. But we do want to meet you to talk about that screw up today. I mean, crashing into a pig car when delivering a cargo? What are the odds?_ " the voice said more softly, followed by an impressed whistle.

"Non-existent," Jamie replied, when the voice obviously waited for a reply. Eddie looked at him in disbelief.

" _Oh, well, all joking aside. I have orders too. Your friend, who recommended you, he's been taken care of, so now you are dealing directly with me. From now on, we want you to collect the merchandise yourself. Be at the Emerald Pub at 11 pm, and we will revise your contract. Just ask for Bugs. Deal?_ " the voice asked and yet again Jamie cleared his throat.

"I'll be there," he responded and the line went dead.

"Jamie… what the hell..?" Eddie gaped and stood up from the couch, carefully. "Where did you get that phone?" she asked him in a high pitched voice. Jamie stood up as well to find his own phone.

"Someone left it at the hospital for 'the guy in the crash with the cop car," he began explaining and quickly relayed the details for her when he dialed his brother. Eddie didn't stop looking at him, her eyes filled with astonishment and worry.

"You can't do that, Reagan," she said after Danny had answered his phone.

" _You can't do what, Jamie?_ " Danny asked suspiciously and Jamie sighed.

"Meet the employers of the man that rammed into us today," he explained briefly.

" _What are you talking about, kid?_ " Danny asked confused.

"It's just a misunderstanding…" Jamie began and Eddie snorted.

"A misunderstanding is much smaller than this," she stated and Danny grumbled on the line.

" _How long have you been married?_ " Danny asked with a slight hint of amusement in his voice. Jamie sighed dramatically and was about to growl at his brother. " _Listen, kid, how about I swing by your place and then we can talk about it?_ " Danny quickly continued and Jamie agreed.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 7:00 pm, Flatiron District**

"I'll have to go with Janko on this one, Jamie, you can't do this," Danny argued, pacing around the open spaced in the living room. His face had gone more and more red by the minute, when Jamie explained the situation.

"Why not? I can do it, Danny," Jamie shot back and Danny sighed irritably.

"Because, these are dangerous people! They are trading in black market organs, for Christ sake!" Danny yelled back. Eddie was leaning against the windowsill with folded arms, watching the two feisty brothers battling it out.

"You won't be more than twenty seconds away, and you only need the incriminating proof, then you can have them all locked up by midnight, case closed," Jamie argued in his high pitched voice.

"It's not that simple," Danny said, lowering his voice and gesticulated wildly.

"Danny!" Jamie erupted and caught his brother's burning eyes. "Let me do this," he continued calmly. Eddie's eyes had been jumping from one to another and now they rested on the detective to her right. Danny was silent, thinking, when he did half a turn. His shoulders slumped down and he bowed his head.

"I don't know…" Danny began hesitantly.

"They clearly don't know what Skeet looks like, and the caller didn't seem to know what he sounds like, either," Jamie pressed on after Danny turned around again.

"What about the person they took care of? What makes you think, they won't just blow off your head too? What if they figure you out? What if something goes wrong?" Danny asked, rubbing his face.

"That's a lot of uncertainty," Jamie replied and lowered himself onto a chair. His head had begun to throb again.

"Damn right it is. Undercover work aren't easy," Danny contradicted.

"Do I have to remind you, that I'm an adult, with almost seven years on the job? Not to mention multiple high profile collars, the Blue Templar take down, my UC with Noble Sanfino… I can do this, Danny, trust me on this one," Jamie finished. He knew he had enough experience, but he wasn't all clear on why he wanted to do this, so badly. Then it hit him, all of a sudden. He liked being out in the streets, working throughout the city. But he wanted to advance in his career as well, he discovered. Danny sighed yet again and Jamie looked up at him, waiting for the final decision.

"All right, but we do this on my terms and rules, got it?" Danny said and grabbed his own phone. He needed to get this show going, they had less than four hours to prepare. His first call went to Baez, so she could set everything up. Next call was Linda, who got a quick rundown of the situation, and last but not least, the call to the commissioner.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 7:30 pm, Bay Ridge**

Frank immediately glared at his phone when it buzzed next to him. He was sitting in the kitchen with a laptop in front of him and a cup of coffee next to it. Every call after hours brought a brief memory of the night, Joe died, with them. He always felt the quick surge of panic until he forced himself to shake it off.

"Danny," he said when he answered the call. Both his face and name had been present on the caller ID.

" _Dad, we might have an opening to the case,_ " Danny started out and Frank could hear his oldest son hesitate.

"What is it, Danny?" Frank encouraged him. As Danny told him the story, relayed the argument and enlightened Frank in the plan, the color of his face drained away slowly. However, his stoic face didn't change. That was an ability he had picked up after many years of service and he had only perfected it throughout the years he had been in the corner office as the commissioner.

"I'll be there in an hour," he simply stated and disconnected the call. He sat still for a while, before making a call to Baker and then he drained down the rest of his lukewarm coffee.

 _I hope you liked it, let me know what you think. :) Good night._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello, all you amazing readers! I have to say, I'm surprised by all the positive reviews! That is co encouraging and I'm so happy that so many of you choose to spend your time on reading and reviewing. It means the world to me! Thanks!_

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 9:00 pm, 54** **th** **precinct**

Eddie had tagged along when Danny had hauled Jamie back to his precinct. She wasn't about to let her partner out of sight and now she was making herself useful by looking at traffic cams on 7th Avenue. Baez had returned to the precinct too and was currently doing the coffee run, which they all needed. Danny was in the Lieutenant's office, accompanied by Jamie and Frank. Eddie had kept an eye on them, through the blinds, and Danny had almost paced a hole in the floor behind the chair Jamie was sitting in. Frank might just have done the same on the other side of the desk. By now, they had all calmed down and they were all sitting and talking.

Frank hadn't been overly fond of the plan Jamie had relayed for him. Neither had Danny, that was for sure.

"So you go meet with 'Bugs' at 11 in the Emerald Pub…" Frank cleared up and Jamie nodded. "Assuming he hasn't seen the reel Skeet before…" Jamie nodded again and Danny rubbed his face and neck. "You get them to talk about the work and when we have enough, we will bust them," Frank said. Jamie nodded and said nothing.

"He will be wearing a wire and we have ESU on standby. We will set up camp around the corner on Hudson Street, no more than hundred yards away," Danny commented. He had already put the wheels into motion. Frank breathed out heavily.

"All right," he stated and stood. Danny shot him a glance, wondering why his father had agreed to let his youngest son do this. Jamie too, looked a little bit baffled, but he quickly recovered. "I don't like this, but it is a way in," Frank commented when he saw the faces of his sons. He had a gnawing feeling in his stomach, but he trusted Jamie to do the work properly and Danny to take good care of him.

"Just like that?" Danny asked, a little bit weary of the situation. "No speeches about safety, or the danger he puts himself in?" he continued and was eagerly pacing around the floor again. "Why don't you try to talk him out of it, dad?" Danny argued. "These people mutilate innocent victims, just to earn some hard cash!" His temper was taking over now and Jamie only looked down. He wasn't about to begin another fight with his brother.

"I think that you have every angle covered and with Jamie's intelligence and your experience the both of you should be capable to work together on this case," Frank said calmly. Danny was about to present another argument when he saw the look on his dad's face. The debate was over. Danny scolded, growled and left the office without another word. In the late evening the temperature had dropped a few, highly appreciated degrees, but the air was still humid and thick and when Danny left the building for a few minutes of air the heat wall hit him hard outside the doors.

Frank and Jamie walked out of the Lieutenant's office, not saying anything. Frank was carrying his jacket over his arm and his crisp white shirt made him stand out next to Jamie.

"See you soon," Frank mumbled and Jamie looked at him and nodded. When Frank left, Jamie let himself collapse in the chair at Danny's desk and breathed out heavily with closed eyes.

"They went along with it?" Eddie asked when she glanced over at him. She didn't like the plan and she didn't try to disguise it in her voice. Jamie opened one eye and glared at her, suspiciously before he nodded.

"They're not happy with it, but it gives Danny a way in to this case," he said and leaned back in the chair again.

"And what's in it for you? A gold shield?" she asked derisively and paused the videos by stabbing the space bar. Jamie frowned at her attitude.

"What's wrong?" he asked, short and straight forward. Eddie sighed and folded her hands, looking really composed.

"What's wrong is that you jumped into the deep end of the pool, when you answered that call and we know nothing about the people you are going to meet. On top of that, Boy Scout, it doesn't seem like you care that much about your safety. For your information, I would like to keep my partner. My ambitious, reasonable, kind partner with a heart of gold, who tries to see the best in even the worst people," she pointed out. Her voice had changed and for the first time, Jamie really saw the worry in her eyes. He was silent for a moment, considering her words. They had hit him, just as hard as her eyes and her voice. He was about to answer when Danny and Baez came back. Eddie and Jamie didn't ætake the eyes of one another.

"See if you can get Kevin Anderson on the ESU detail, he is the best of them," Danny mentioned matter-of-factly to Baez who placed the four coffee cups on the table and dug out her phone from her pocket. Eddie turned back to the monitor and resumed the video, silently. Jamie stood up and started pacing restlessly, while he reread the transcript of the interrogation with David 'Skeet' Lynch Danny had seen the connection between the two younger officers, but for now he didn't comment on it. Eddie straightened up and hit a key. Then she hit it again.

"I've got it," she mumbled and paused the video. "The van turns north on 7th Street from Bedford Street. The three of them joined her behind the computer and she pushed the play-button.

"That goes down to West Houston Street, right?" Baez asked the group. All three of them hummed a 'yes' in reply.

"Chase it down, maybe we can find the rendezvous point where Lynch picked up the cargo," Danny demanded.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 10:45 pm, Hudson Street**

The back of the surveillance van was cramped up with people. Danny and Baez were wearing identical NYPD jackets, while Eddie was sitting tight in one of the chairs. Frank was in the back of the small vehicle, clearly not built for people of his proportions, talking quietly with Jamie.

"You go in there and get a feel of the situation. I'm sure you have the common sense to get out of there if that is the case," Frank said with his head cocked under the low roof. Jamie nodded and exhaled slowly, trying to control his pulse.

"Jamie, can you give us a sound test, please?" Baez asked the youngest Reagan and Jamie tapped his chest shortly before lowering his mouth to the microphone.

"This good enough, Maria?" Jamie asked her and she nodded and put the headset down.

"Now, listen kid," Danny started and if Jamie hadn't been so nervous, he would have glared at his brother for calling him a kid. "That's a one-way-wire, so remember that we can hear everything you say, but you can't hear us. If anything goes wrong, just say the word and we will get you out of there," Danny said and gave his brother a worried glance. The kid looked tense, for sure. He was just about to ask him, if he was all right, when the sliding door opened and Lieutenant Gormley poked his head inside.

"Everything is ready, Sir," he told his boss. "Anderson's team is all set," he said to Danny who nodded.

"Be safe, kid," Danny said. "If anything happens to you, I got Erin to deal with," he continued.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want that, eh?" Jamie replied with a forced smile on his face. He rubbed a hand over his chest and straightened out his leather jacket. He was still wearing the sling on his left arm, but he couldn't do without it.

"Be careful, Jamie," Eddie said when he moved to the door. He turned around and gave her a securing smile before he jumped out, past Gormley who scrambled in. Jamie made his way down the street, turned left and crossed another street before he entered the yellow building in the dark.

"This is it," he mumbled, shook his shoulders and pushed open the door.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:00 pm, Emerald Pub**

Emerald Pub was filled with people, mostly middle aged men. Alcohol fumes and a thick blue smoke were covering the ceiling. Jamie looked around, checking for anyone who looked at him, before he made his way to the bar and caught the eye of the bartender. The younger man grabbed a glass on his way down to Jamie.

"What's your poison, man?" the bartender asked.

"I'm looking for Bugs," Jamie said, surprising himself with his calm voice. The bartender's smile faded away and his eyes grew cold.

"In the back, through those doors, first on the left," he answered after a moment or two of eyeing the newcomer. Jamie nodded a silent thanks and pushed past the crowd. He walked through the open doors and raised his hand to knock on the door. He exhaled once more and knocked assertively on the door. It soon opened and about a dozen men turned their grinning faces to look at him. The man who opened the door, was skinny and he moved uneasily with involuntary twitches every once in a while. Jamie walked in, praying that none of the men had seen the real David Lynch before.

"Skeet?" the deep sonorous voice from the phone call sounded. It came from the abnormally huge man sitting at the middle of the table. Jamie glanced over at him and nodded before he found his voice.

"Who else?" Jamie asked with a crooked smile and had in a matter of seconds changed his body language. The big man eyed him up and down for a few seconds.

"I know you..?" the man stated hesitantly and pointed a finger at Jamie.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:05 pm, Hudson Street**

Danny, Baez, Gormley, Frank and Eddie was sitting on darts, all of them ready to jump out and come running.

" _I know you..?_ " the man with the huge voice said. He sounded hesitant and careful and Danny jumped up from his chair.

"This is not good," he murmured and grabbed the radio. "Anderson, stand by, go on my word," he ordered into the crackling radio and the addressed man acknowledged.

" _Oh, yeah, I have one of those faces…_ " they heard Jamie say, his voice was calm and with a hint of a smile in it.

"Wait, Danny, he is trying to save it," Baez said quickly and held a hand in the air, listening intensively to the transmission.

" _…_ _narks even tried to pin the murder of a drug dealer on me, because I looked like the suspect. One day I was minding my own business and walking down the street, when those pigs tackled me from behind,_ " Jamie continued and there was silence for a while. Danny rubbed his neck in amazement. Jamie had turned into a completely different person. A roar of laughter erupted over the line and Frank let go of the breath, he realized he was holding onto.

"Good work, Jamie," he muttered quietly and leaned back.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:10 pm, Emerald Pub**

Jamie let out a silent sigh of relief when the men burst out into a wild laughter. He certainly hadn't expected this. When the laughter died out again the huge man waved him closer, still with a smile tinkling in his eyes.

"Have a seat, Skeet," the man said and one of the other men moved to give him his chair. Jamie sat down, looking composed, but not rigid. "I'm Bugs, and this is my staff, your new colleagues," the man with the huge bulk introduced. "The Chief is not here, but we rarely see him. He is… conducting business elsewhere," the man continued, choosing his words carefully. "Now, this situation is a little bit nasty, you see, we are hundred and fifty grand short now, since you wrecked the cargo. But that is not on you, buddy. We are all to blame for the unfortunate circumstances, most of all, your friend, Mr. Nine. He won't be joining us again," Bugs said. The other men were completely silent as the huge man talked. Not one of them even dared to move and inch. Jamie was silent too, waiting for an opportunity. If he could just get the big guy to talk about the business, he thought. "Tomorrow we are expecting an incoming, live load. I want you to collect it in the evening… without crashing it. This is precious cargo and the Chief wouldn't want to lose money, you get me?" he asked and Jamie nodded, this was definitely not what he had expected.

"What if the cargo causes problems?" Jamie asked, fishing for the connecting words. Immediately he could feel everybody's eyes on him, and he now knew, that you weren't supposed to ask questions. Bugs eyed him once again and nodded silently.

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:15 pm, Hudson Street**

" _What if the cargo causes problems?_ " Jamie had asked and a deadly silence filled the transmissions. If it wasn't for the loud music and drunken people two doors away, they would have thought they lost the connection.

" _That is why we have these babies,_ " the deep voice said and they heard the sound of a metallic clunk on wood. It had sounded heavy when it scraped over the table. " _Do you know how to use one of these?_ " he asked.

" _Yeah, no problem,_ " Jamie answered confident and more silence followed.

" _Show me, please. I want to be sure, that you will be able to handle it,_ " the man said after a short moment.

" _You want me to show you how to use a gun?_ "

o¨

"A gun?" Eddie asked nervous. Then they heard a magazine being ejected, the slide being racked back and a spent shell casing clinked on the table. They heard the gun being dry fired and the pieces were placed on the table.

" _Who ate a bullet?_ " Jamie asked and once again silence in the room. His voice had changed.

" _Keep your phone close. I will send you a text with the pickup point and directions to the destination. It was nice meeting you, Skeet,_ " the man said. Soon after the background noise intensified and then it was muted. Hasty footsteps sounded with a superficial breathing. After a few minutes the sliding door was opened and a flushed Jamie crawled into the already crowded van. The outside temperature didn't do much for the stale air inside.

"What the hell happened in there?" Danny shot out at him when he turned around to face his kid brother. "That wasn't the plan, if you remember correctly," he blurted out until he saw the weary look in his brother's face.

"Thirties, dark hair, some weird accent, scar over his right eye, nine fingers," Jamie recalled and rubbed his face. "The man who left the phone at the hospital before midday is dead," he continued and grabbed the bottled water Baez handed to him.

"What?" Danny asked, confused.

"He has about ten people under him, only a few of them looked tuff, the others could be doctors, but they were all armed," Jamie continued and drank greedily of the cold water. He didn't know he was that thirsty. "The reason you couldn't find any missing persons in the area is because they are not from the area," he finished.

"You two should get some rest," Danny said, out of the blue and opened the door and jumped out. "Baez, will you give them a ride home?" he asked and she immediately nodded. Soon after, the three of them were making their way north to Jamie's apartment. Eddie motioned to exit the car and Jamie glanced at her, confused and wearily.

"What? If you think I'm letting you out of my sight after today, you're completely wrong. Besides I need someone to have a drink with and my car is still here," she mentioned and Jamie sighed and Eddie slid out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride, Maria," Jamie said and opened the door. "Don't give Danny any wrong ideas, please. It's the last thing I need right now," he said before he closed the door.

 _I really hope you liked this chapter too, there might be a little consensus mistakes, but just imagine, that Bugs and his entourage hasn't seen the news flash about the driver being arrested - oops. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave a review :) /K._


	4. Chapter 4

_Did you guys, watch the latest episode? Spoiler: I'd say that Wilder got what he deserved but I sincerely hoped he was packing! Technically you could call it self defense, right? And I love, that Nicky had some more screen time, than just the dinners. She really puts things into perspective and completes the family!_

 _Back to the story. Sorry for the late update, I've been busy. What do you think of the length of the chapters? Too much, too little? I've realized, that since I began writing in here, my fluency in the language has improved. I don't have to think much about the grammar more. But you can blame me for the occasional typo. (; Read, enjoy and leave a review. Thanks!_

 **Monday, August 28** **th** **, 11:30 pm, Flatiron District**

"Do you realize how crazy this is?" Eddie asked when Jamie opened the door and let them in. Jamie mumbled a reply and closed the door after them. He dropped the keys on the table and carefully took of the sling. His shoulder still hurt like hell and he went straight to the cupboard in the corner from where he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He brought it, and two glasses, to the couch, where Eddie had collapsed just like five hours earlier. "This should take the edge of the pain," she commented when he tipped a generous measure into both of the glasses and handed her one of them.

"I don't have any painkillers," Jamie replied with a tired twinkle in his eyes.

"I think this will do the trick just fine," she said and sipped the strong brew. Jamie nodded and leaned forwards to grab the remote. His shoulder stung for a second until he let himself fall back into the cushions and placed his feet on the table with a sigh. He flickered through the channels for a few minutes until Eddie cleared her throat.

"I meant what I said earlier," she pointed out and shifted her gaze to him. Jamie's mind winded back to a few hours earlier, to the conversation they hadn't finished. He turned off the TV again, put the remote and the drink on the table and turned to look at her. She looked exhausted and pale and her eyes were glossy.

"I'm not backing out of this now," he told her with a low voice. Innocent people were being slaughtered and he had the possibility of changing it. "Danny's got my back," he continued and Eddie looked baffled.

"That doesn't stop them from pulling a gun on you and maybe even pull the trigger, Jamie," she said accusingly and put her own drink on the table. She rose slowly from the couch, so her ribs wouldn't hurt, and walked to the window. She dapped her eyes, when moving away, hoping that he wouldn't notice the single tear that fell down her chin.

"Eddie," he sighed and followed her soon after. He didn't know what to say. The only thing that popped into his head was possibly empty promises. Standing a few feet behind her, he saw her reflection in the window. Her eyes found his in the reflection and she nodded. His eyes told her everything.

"I know," she simply stated and turned around to face him. The corner of his mouth lifted a little bit.

"Me too," he almost whispered. For a brief second they stood there and looked at each other until they silently agreed that a hug wouldn't change anything. Eddie rested her head on his shoulder with her arms slightly wrapped around her partner's waist. Jamie leaned his head on Eddie's hair and hugged her just tightly enough, so that her ribs wouldn't hurt. When they finally pulled apart a few minutes had passed. "You should get some sleep," Jamie mentioned and rubbed his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Reagan," Eddie said quietly and walked past him with a tired gleam in her eyes. Seconds later, Jamie heard the door open and close and he was still looking at the window.

"Good night, Eddie," he whispered. Then he drained the rest of his glass and went to bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 06:00 am, Bay Ridge**

Frank had pushed his almost empty breakfast plate aside, when Henry made his entrance in the kitchen. He was nursing a cup of coffee together with an open case file in front of him. Seeing his son's 'deflated' look he grabbed a mug and sat down.

"What's eating you, Francis?" he asked in his rough voice when he poured the coffee in the mug. He needed some of that black brew, before he could lose the hoarseness in the morning.

"Two bodies," Frank only muttered. "One of them a victim of organ harvesting, the other was on the other team, but made a mistake, that cost him his life," he elaborated when Henry looked at him, a little puzzled. It wasn't uncommon for New York to have a couple of homicides every week.

"This is about Jamie and last night?" Henry asked, already knowing the answer. Frank had updated his father when he came home the night before and he had been unsurprisingly supportive of his youngest grandson.

"The victims have no ID's but it's them," Frank stated. He was looking at the pictures of two grotesquely damaged male bodies. One of them was missing a liver and the other was missing a finger, just like the description. Danny had been working all night on this. A dumpster truck driver had found the first victim, the harvestee. The other had been floating just off the coast on Manhattan, south of the Williamsburg Bridge and found by a drunken couple walking home from a night out.

"Those bastards don't know what's coming at them," Henry grunted with the complete trust in his youngest. He knew Jamie would make it out safely and with Danny's help, they could bring them all down. At least, that was what he let other people think he knew. Danny and Jamie were the ultimate, tough duo with a great amount of both intelligence and experience.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 07:30 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

The small hours in the morning had been nice and cooling, but now the sun was toasting the city again. Both Danny and Baez were slumped in their chairs after working hard all night. Past midnight they got a phone call about a dumpster truck on West 3rd Street. Inside a dumpster, the driver had found the body of a young male, Caucasian but well-tanned, possibly from the southern states. Before dawn a patrol car had called in, with a body in the river, matching the description from the nurse at the front desk in the hospital. The two detectives were running low on fuel and only the cold, muddy remnants of coffee covered the bottom of the cups. Now the precinct was starting to hum again, as more people came through the doors and started their working day.

"All the way down the East Coast at least thirty people are reported missing. The majority of them are from Florida," Baez declared and rubbed her eyes. "And don't even get me started on the rest of the states," she said warningly. Danny looked up from his computer and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Let's start on the East coast, that's eight states… Anyone we can exclude?" he asked wearily. "Let's narrow it down to the ME's suggestions… most like Caucasian, including Hispanic, age 18 to 30, probably non-smokers, good health in general," he continued and Baez typed in the criteria. "How many does that leave us with?" he asked and persuaded his body to stand and walk the short distance so he could glance at the screen.

"We are down to 22," Baez commented. "With a total of nine in Florida. The rest of them are scattered around the other seven states on the coast.

"All right… do background checks on all of them and see what comes up… maybe we can link them to something," Danny said and grabbed his crumpled suit jacket from the back of his chair. "I'll go talk to some people," he muttered and left Baez alone. First of all, he would try and knock some sense into his kid brother, in other words, complain about his newest idea of saving the day. And get into a resounding discussion about who knew what the best was for Jamie. He sure wouldn't like that, Danny knew.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 08:00 am, Flatiron District**

Even before Jamie opened the door, he knew it was Danny, just by judging the urgent knocks on the door. He muttered irritably and sighed in frustration when he opened the door and Danny almost raced past him, starting to squabble furiously. As much at Jamie hated his oldest brother's bickering, he just waited it out, until he became rational again.

"I can hear, you haven't slept," Jamie stated when the heat died out and Danny let himself fall onto the couch.

"No," he barked angrily at his kid brother and peered over at him when he started to update Jamie on the case and the two found bodies.

"That is crazy, Danny, you think they're bringing them up from Florida?" Jamie ruffled his hair with his good arm, not even sleepy anymore. Danny had fixed his eyes on the two glasses on the coffee table and then narrowed his eyes at his kid brother.

"Should I come back later? I mean, if you have company…" Danny trailed away until Jamie caught on and saw the two glasses.

"Danny," he sighed and leaned against the couch.

"No, I'm sorry if I've interrupted your morning, kid," Danny said with a smirk plastered all over his face.

"Nothing happened and nothing will ever happen between me and Eddie. We are partners on the job, there are regulations about that," Jamie said wearily. Danny only kept smiling.

"It's only just about the worst kept secret in the entire history of the NYPD and the Reagan family," Danny commented and received a piercing look from Jamie. He threw his hands up in self defense. "What? Erin told me," he laughed when he braced himself for the pillow coming right at him.

"And that's it?" Jamie asked him, suddenly a little bit rosier in the cheeks.

"Pops is just waiting for the day he can add a chair to the table again. Nicky has dropped a hunch and Linda can see it too… and dad knows everything, of course" Danny said when he placed the pillow under his head.

"You were saying something about the case?" Jamie sighed and rubbed his neck. This was going to be a long day, he thought.

"Go wake your up your partner. You have a bunch of paperwork to do," he replied.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 10:00 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

"We will have a couple of unmarked units on you, so we mix up the tale," Danny stated when he sat down in his chair with a heavy sigh.

"We don't know how far away I'm going… I mean, I could end up in another state," Jamie mentioned as he kept typing his reports on Baez's computer. She and Eddie had been gone for half an hour now, picking up coffee and getting an update from the IT-department. They should be back with a clean copy of last night's meeting in not too much time. Jamie had yet to receive the message with the pick-up and drop off. They had agreed on no wire or other tracking device, it was better to be a bit more cautious than last night, depending on the assignment.

"No, but it won't be too long. It is a live cargo, as he mentioned," Danny growled. Just the thought of this case made him eerie. If it was in fact human trafficking they had to involve the FBI, and they would take over the whole case. But they wouldn't scream wolf, just yet. They heard, rather than saw Baez and Eddie as they came towards the desk from around the corner. Something had made them giggle loudly, and it only turned into a slightly uncontrollable laughter when they saw their partners.

"What's funny?" Danny asked and rubbed his forehead. The fatigue was starting to show on both him and Baez.

"We were just talking about similarities between the two of you…" Baez said and handed her partner the Styrofoam cup of thick, black coffee. She handed one to Jamie as well.

"Or lack thereof," Eddie added with a smile. Jamie realized he was smiling too and the reason took him aback for a split second. Danny's words echoed in his mind. _… worst kept secret…_ he almost acted like a silly schoolgirl with a crush when he saw Eddie. He had confided in Erin, just after a year of partnership with the young officer, about his feelings for Eddie. Around the same time Renzulli had smelled it and had asked about it. He had outright lied to his commanding officer, who had just a few hours ago assigned both of them to assist the detectives from 54th until further notice. He knocked himself back to reality and moved from the chair.

"Anything else you need me to do, while I'm here?" Jamie asked the detectives. He suddenly had the urge to leave and be alone for some time. With the case and the latest realization spinning around between his ears, he needed some fresh air. Though the air was as stale outside as inside, if not more.

"If we think of something, I'll call you. Be sure to let me know about that message from Bugs. We need to be ready," Danny replied and Jamie grabbed his jacket, the coffee soon forgotten. Not that he liked wearing it, but he felt more comfortable when he could cover the weapon on his hip. It made people take another look at him, when he wasn't wearing a uniform and today he didn't particularly want to be unarmed. He had a nagging feeling, like a tickling between his shoulder blades. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't mention it to Danny. They had all agreed on getting some rest before tonight. Both Baez and Danny were heading home to catch up on a few hours of sleep. When he walked to the elevator he heard Eddie come up from behind. He could tell it was her, just by listening to the way she ran and how her feet padded the floor.

"Wait up, Reagan," she called out and he turned around after he pressed the down-button. He looked at her, inquisitively and she corrected the shoulder strap on her bag. Her arm was still pestering her. "Are you doing all right?" she asked him and the elevator opened. Her hair was down, much to her discontent, caused by the heat. They both stepped inside.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He responded and forced a smile. Eddie nodded, but wasn't satisfied. That seemed to be the only phrase he knew to respond to a question like that. However, she didn't reply, right away, just shrugged her shoulders.

"Why wouldn't you be?" she countered after a few seconds. It seemed like nothing fazed him, and her ironic question came out much bitchier than she had intended and Jamie looked curiously at her for a second. Then he sighed and stepped out of the elevator. He didn't trust his own wording right now, so he skipped a reply. She followed him out, half a step behind. Something had changed him, Eddie wondered. This morning, when he picked her up on the way to the precinct, he was fine. When she and Baez came back with coffee, something was off. The thought of going all the way back in the car, in the silence, in the heat made her heart sink.

"I think, I'll just walk back home," Eddie mentioned and Jamie looked at her curious but nonetheless irritated. He surely didn't look like he needed the company, Eddie thought.

"Eddie, you don't have to," Jamie sighed and stopped on the sidewalk in front of her.

"No, it's fine. Another time. It doesn't feel like it would do any kind of good, right now. Let me now, when my real partner is back. Be safe, Jamie," she said and turned around. Seconds later she crossed the street in a hustle. Jamie was lost in thoughts when he drove back home.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 4:00 pm, Flatiron District**

The phone belonging to 'Skeet' buzzed on the table and woke Jamie up. He had fallen asleep on the couch when he had arrived back home. Drowsily he dialed his brother, who answered on the second call.

" _Reagan,_ " sounded the familiar voice, just as husky and drowsily as Jamie felt.

"Hey… I got the message," Jamie said and stifled a yawn.

" _What_ does it say?" Danny asked, suddenly more awake.

"It only says '9 pm. Rivington Street and Pitt Street'," Jamie relayed and thought of the possibilities for that specific location. Nothing came to mind, it was just an ordinary intersection.

" _Rivington and Pitt?_ " Danny asked, surprised. " _What's down there?_ " he asked with a heavy sigh.

"Beats me," Jamie replied. For a few minutes they discussed the details and they agreed on calling their own partner's with the update. Jamie heaved another sigh and moved to the bathroom where he had a quick shower. It took him about four minutes more, to gather up the courage to call Eddie. The way they left things this morning, wasn't normal, and he was fully aware, that it was his fault. He had to give her a proper apology when all this was over. Right now he had other things on his mind. Human trafficking, black market organ harvesting just to mention a few of them.

 _Let me know how I did? :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_I apologize for the long wait. A warning to the faint hearted as well for this chapter - it's kind of 'dark and twisted'. Constructive criticism is always helpful. Read, enjoy and leave a review is you want._

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 10:00 pm, North End Avenue**

Jamie groaned in agony when he was pushed out of the van. He collided hard with the smooth floor of an underground parking. The giant, one of the less scared goons he had encountered in the backroom at the bar, the previous night towered above him and hauled him upright on his unsteady feet. He could feel his left eye had already swollen and the taste of blood was still evident in his mouth. The cut on his eyebrow had stopped leaking, only the single line of dried blood was still visible. Jamie was pushed away from the parked van and towards a door. The van was the only vehicle in sight and everything was completely still. Only the echoes of their shuffling feet could be heard. Jamie wondered where he was. Danny would know, he should have been following the van with Eddie, Baez and Gormley.. Only they didn't know half of the situation at hand. He guessed they were holding back, but surely just around the corner. Eddie. He gave himself a mentally kick in the ass, because of his stupid behavior. How could he leave things like that? The mood had been all tensed up when they met earlier, and they had hardly spoken a word

"Where are we?" Jamie huffed and carried his left arm close to his chest. A twist had made his shoulder hurt again. The strain didn't do anything good for him. They had been driving for the best part of an hour, but it was a series of confusing turns, slow passes and fast lane changing. It was a thoroughly executed heat run, and they could be all over Manhattan, Jamie figured.

"Don't worry about that. The Chief wants to see you and let you know a bit about the business, so he will be giving you a tour tonight," the oversized man grunted with his shorted accent. Jamie only looked at him, when the guy opened the door. On the other side Jamie was pushed up stairs until they reached the fourth floor. They walked through a small landscape of office cubicles, zigzagging towards the office with glass walls and light.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 9:00 pm, Rivington and Pitt**

Jamie was doing his best to look calm when he stood near the intersection and waited. The heat was unbelievable, even without the sun, and he felt almost naked without his weapon. He was only carrying a small pocket knife in his sock. He could only just make out the van, in which the case detectives, Eddie and Gormley were sitting on Pitt Street. Today he was wearing no wire, so the only thing they could do was to wait it out and, if something happened, get him out. A white van rolled to a stop in front of him, similar to the one that t-boned him and Eddie yesterday morning. It currently blocked his eyesight to his backup down the street. The side door slid open and the ugly, giant man looked him over before he moved, inviting Jamie to join him. Even Jamie had to crane his neck if he wanted to stand inside. Eddie would be able to stand in here without problems.

"I'm Anton," the guy quipped with an eastern-European accent. He closed the door the inside of the van darkened. Only the small opening between the front and the back let in some light. Live cargo, yeah right, Jamie thought. A chill made the hairs on his arms stand, except it was still hot. The chill was founded by the eerie feeling that crept up on him.

"I was under the impression, that I was supposed to work tonight?" Jamie questioned the man named Anton and peeped into the front. He didn't receive a verbal answer, but when he turned around he saw a quick motion in the corner of his eye. He wasn't fast enough to block the right hook that sent him backwards into the side of the van with a loud noise. The van even tilted a bit before it came to back to rest on the springs again. Jamie almost fell to the floor but staggered back up. His head had exploded in a mix of dancing black dots and coloured sparks and he felt the blood compile under the skin where the blow hit him. A warm trickle of blood was assisted by gravity and fell down his cheek from his eyebrow. He hadn't even gained his foothold when a vicious jab to his ribs sent him rocketing to the floor. Anton grabbed his still sore left arm and turned him onto his back. Jamie moaned and hissed when the sharp pain from his shoulder protruded the haze. Big hands padded him down, presumably checking for wires or any kind of weapon, but didn't a terrible job. Jamie squirmed and gasped when he felt the pressure on his tender ribs, and was then left alone. Shortly after, the van started moving into the endless maze of New York City.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 10:10 pm, North End Avenue**

"It's so nice to meet you, Skeet." Jamie's still functional eye had scanned the office before it landed on the man behind the desk. He could be no more than ten years older than Jamie. He was pressed into the chair opposite, and the man nodded to Anton. " _Hvala, Anton. Možete otići,_ " he spoke quietly and the big man exited the room. Jamie glared at Anton's back until he closed the door behind him and headed towards the same door they had entered through. His eyes fell back on the man in front of him. "You are probably wondering why you are here and instead of transporting the goods, that I have ordered," the balled man with the rather large bulk said playfully. He didn't have an accent like Anton, all though he had just spoken another language. To Jamie it sounded like Baltic or Slavic, though he didn't know the difference. It wasn't quite like Russian.

"Are you going to tell me?" Jamie asked, trying not to look fazed. The man shook his head with a smile.

"I'm going to show you," he said and stood from the plush chair. "This way," he motioned to the door and buttoned up his large suit jacket. He didn't walk like normal people. It was more of a waddle. And the jacket didn't hide the bulge of a gun placed under the man's right arm. Jamie followed suit though not too close.

"Why are you doing this?" Jamie asked him and appreciated the kind-of-slow waddling pace.

"I wanted to keep you close enough, so that you couldn't wreck any more cars or transactions. Bugs told me, about you, thought it best if we applied you somewhere else in the business. I'm sorry I wasn't there myself, I had a rather imminent business emergency in Belmont to take care of," the man said while leading them to an elevator. When it opened they both stepped inside, the man had to sidestep if he wanted to fit. Jamie could almost hear the cables moan against the heavy weight when he followed.

"What are you going to show me?" Jamie asked. " _Sir_ ," he hesitantly added and received a smile from the man. It was a bit of a chance to ask this much, Jamie knew that. The elevator was hauled upwards, when he pressed an unmarked button.

"Please, don't call me 'sir', it reminds me of the army, and we are not that, are we?" the man laughed. "If you have to call me anything, it's Chief in public and Don in private," he continued and stepped out of the elevator. Jamie looked in disbelief through the room, just as big as the floor they had come from. This floor too, had been filled with small office cubicles, now they were all disassembled and stacked in one corner. A lot of cages were now occupying the floor space. Jamie was immediately sick to his stomach, and was thankful that the man had his back to him. Only a few of the cages had the doors closed and Jamie was horrified to see the dirty people inside them. A young man starred through them, no life in his eyes. He was thin and pale, and Jamie could see no muscles left on his bare chest. His eyes seemed to have sunk in, just like his cheeks. He had a single mattress to sleep on and nothing else. It was the same for the other seven people Jamie counted in there.

"It's not like they can do a lot of resistance, but with the incoming shipment, we need some help down here," the balled man laughed. He didn't seem affected by it, the least.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 10:00 pm, North End Avenue**

"Where the hell are they going?" Danny exclaimed, getting tired of the wild goose chase. As if on cue, the white van turned into the parking garage of an old, seemingly abandoned office building with six floors. "Pull over," he yelled to the driver of the inconspicuous van. He didn't want to follow them in there, in case it would blow their cover. Baez was already typing and reading furiously from the laptop and relayed to information.

"The building is owned by the city, former resident was a telemarketing firm that went bankrupt four years ago. It's just waiting to be renovated," Baez announced as Danny jumped to his feet and headed to the door.

"Where do you think you are going?" Eddie asked him and followed suit. They both landed on the sidewalk, out of sight from the building. Baez stayed in the van, used to her partner's sometimes drastic ideas. She knew what would come next and hardly flinched from the screen when they moved outside.

"I'm just going to take a look around," Danny said and peered around the front of the van. "Stay here, it won't take long," he promised and walked away, crossing the street. For a second Eddie considered the suggestion, but a second later she decided to follow him. She caught up with Danny when he reached the other side of the road. "Geez, Janko. Are you always this rebellious, or did my brother rub off on you?" Danny exclaimed annoyed when he saw her blond hair bopping next to his shoulders.

"Jamie Reagan a rebel? I doubt it," Eddie muttered with an exaggerated sigh. Danny laughed thoughtfully.

"I'll have to tell you some stories from his childhood… then you'll see what I mean," the detective grunted. Oh, the stories he could tell. Eddie looked at him, intrigued.

"Are we still talking about my partner?" she asked, grateful for the small distraction Danny could provide her with.

"You bet…" Danny replied. They were still walking towards the entrance to the parking garage when the nose of the van edged out. The driver didn't see either Danny or Eddie as they both jumped into the shadows of a door. The van turned onto the street and sped up, both Danny and Eddie stealing glances at it before it turned the corner.

"Do you think he's in there?" Eddie asked and looked at the building. She wondered if he was still in the car. They hadn't seen the driver leave the van an hour earlier, so technically it could still be him, behind the wheel. Danny's eyebrows moved closer to the worrisome wrinkles above his nose and he grabbed his radio from the belt.

"Baez, the vehicle is moving. I need you to keep it in eyesight all the time and let me know where it goes. Janko and I are staying here. Jamie could still be inside," he demanded and reported at once.

" _Got it, do you want me to call for back up?_ " came the quick response as the unmarked van started away from the sidewalk and sped down the street.

"No, that's all right. Call me with updates," he replied and secured the radio on the belt again. They heard Baez acknowledge and moved back into the shadows. If anything came out of the front of the building they would be able to see it. Danny leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. "You and Jamie… are you good?" he asked, maybe a little bit hesitant. Eddie immediately looked at him with a weird look in her eyes. Then her shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh.

"You noticed," she said and folded her arms and leaned back as well.

"It was kind of hard not to," Danny admitted and recalled the silence between them earlier. "What happened? You had a fight or something?" he asked. Eddie seemed to be staring a hole in the sidewalk when she answered.

"It's not like that… it's… I don't know… just stupid," Eddie breathed out again and she could feel Danny's eyes on her. "I asked him a question he didn't feel like answering," she finally blurted out.

"Eddie, 'stupid' is a word no one would put on the two of you… you are both too smart for that. If he went quiet, then he just need a little bit of space. Over the years, I've learnt to let him deal with it in his own time and when he's ready he will share," Danny insured her. He was definitely having a serious chat with him, as soon as possible, he thought. "Just like when he finally announced to us, that he was joining the academy. He had been silent for the best part of a month and he only confided in Joe," Danny smiled at the memory, though it might not have been a happy one. They had all been reluctant about it, but Jamie had turned out to be one of the best in the entire force. If he wasn't a Reagan, he would have shot up through the ranks and no longer be on patrol. Everybody knew he was a great officer, but no one dared to recommend him for a promotion.

"Really?" Eddie asked and turned her head to look at Danny who nodded.

"Yeah," he replied and cast a glance over his shoulder.

 **Tuesday, August 29** **th** **, 10:30 pm, North End Avenue**

Six floors up, Jamie was still stunned. The scene before him had almost rocked his foundation and the sickly feeling hadn't died down. The ghostly pale people in the cages hardly seemed to notice them, a dazed look in their eyes.

"Blood farming," Jamie said. He could hardly recognize his own voice and he had to swallow the lump in his throat when the Chief turned around and looked at him, with an understanding look in his eyes.

"You look like everyone else who sees this for the first time. Don't you worry, it will pass in a day or two, and this will be no more than a source of money for you. Now, this is a slow process, for the time being, but we're expanding with twice the amount of subjects before too long. The problem is, they need to recuperate between the draws. But we are set up for more, as you can see and that's why you are here," the Chief said. He talked much like this was all normal to him, and the people he looked at were no more than moneymakers, not the people they once were.

"Impressive," Jamie forced out, he knew all too well, that if he could fall asleep tonight, he would be haunted by nightmares. He could feel them already, clawing on to his conscience.

"Thank you," the big man hummed. A while passed in silence, the Chief admiring his business, Jamie revolted by the same thing. "Come back in a few days, when you've processed this, and my superior will have a pay check ready for you," he said and showed him to the elevator. Stunned, Jamie realized that he had been guided into the elevator and was now moving downwards, alone. When the doors opened, he started walking out, his legs wobbly, it barely felt like they obeyed his thoughts. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way through the parking garage. Shortly after he walked out, into the humid night air.

"Jamie…" a voice called out and he slowly turned, not even realizing that he had reacted. Eddie and Danny hurried towards him and he saw the horrified looks in their eyes.

"What happened?" Eddie asked and stared worryingly at his pale face. His eye was swollen shut, and the dark red stream of blood had stained his shirt and clotted. He didn't respond to her question, only fixed his eyes on Danny and swallowed.

"This is much bigger… than we thought," he said quietly and ran a hand through his hair. "I…" he paused and looked down, insecure. "I need to be alone, right now," he continued with a small voice, turned around and walked away. Danny gaped at him, looked at Eddie in confusion and stared at the building he had come out of. Eddie did pretty much the same thing, wondering what had happened to shock her partner this much. Danny recovered quickly and was about to call him back to demand an explanation when Eddie put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Let me do it," was the only thing she said and Danny only sighed and nodded. He knew she would have better luck to decipher him. She rushed down the sidewalk to catch up with him. They walked along for almost half an hour, none of them saying anything, until Eddie stepped in front of him and they both stopped. Jamie kept staring into the ground for a few seconds until he realized that Eddie waited for him to look up.

"Eddie, I'm not…" Jamie started but she cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Don't… do this… to me…" she said hesitantly, fueled by worry, anger and all kinds of emotions. "You don't get to make those choices, Reagan…"

"I don't?" he asked harshly, the events of the night now showing. "I don't need you to tell me what to do. We are partners on the job and nothing more." He sighed and walked away.

 _What do you think about the ending of this chapter? Too much? I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review._


	6. Chapter 6

_I hope you enjoy. Not too much action in this one, but a lot of... well you'll see. Read on and leave a review if you please - they give me great inspiration. By the way, if you have an idea to give this story a twist, please go ahead and let me know._

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 02:30 am, Eddie's place**

Eddie was woken up from the doze. She had tossed and turned and couldn't get any proper sleep. She heard the soft knock again and she kicked the sheets off her and padded soundlessly out of the bedroom towards the door. She peered through the spy hole but didn't see anyone in the dimly lit hallway. She grabbed the umbrella from the coat hanger and opened the door, ready to swing it if necessary.

"Hey…" Jamie rasped. Eddie, whose heart calmed down again, instantly felt the change in her partner. He was leaning against the wall, head resting on the door frame.

"Jamie," she almost whispered and caught on the smell of beer… and something stronger. "What have you done?" she asked and replaced the umbrella before she opened the door completely to let him in.

"I made you upset," he said and closed his eyes. He came of the door and Eddie had to catch him when he stumbled.

"Really, Reagan?" she huffed when she made their way into the apartment, dragging and carrying her partner. "You yell at me, get drunk and now this?" she snarled with a grunt when she let him fall onto the couch. Jamie only grunted and started snoring lightly. She stood up to look at her handiwork with one hand on her hip and the other rubbing her face. She sighed and flicked on the lights, traced back to close the door and headed to the bedroom to find her phone and dialed a now familiar number.

" _Reagan_ ," Danny grunted, still half asleep.

"Danny, it's Eddie… you asked me to call you if I heard anything from Jamie," she said pensively and sat on the armrest of the couch.

" _Yeah, did he call you?_ " he asked, now sounding more awake. She heard the faint rattle of bed sheets and then feet padding the floor when Danny moved.

"You could say that," she replied and looked down at her sleeping partner. "He's drunk... and sleeping… on my couch," she continued and sighed.

" _Wait, what?_ " Danny burst out, confused.

"He knocked on my door not two minutes ago and now he is sleeping on my couch…" she explained and traced her fingers through Jamie's hair. He hardly noticed anything.

" _I'll come get him, give me twenty minutes,_ " Danny said after considering the options. Eddie disconnected the call and let her eyes wander over her partner. They stopped dead at the bruised knuckles on his right hand. They looked more fresh, than the bruising on his face.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 03:00 am, Eddie's place**

Eddie had done nothing since she called Danny, and although she knew it would be the best for Jamie, she would have preferred if he could just sleep it off. An insistent, but soft knock on the door caught her attention and she went to open it.

"Are you all right?" Danny asked when he moved past her and she nodded distantly, he had dressed in hurry, in jeans and a polo shirt.

"I mean, I knew he can throw down a good amount of beer, but I have never seen him in this state before," she said and crossed her arms when they moved inside,she was only wearing shorts and a big t-shirt.

"Why did he come here?" Danny asked when he took a look at his kid brother on the couch.

"Earlier, we didn't get to talk… he just pushed me away. I think he came back to talk to me," she replied and cast her eyes on Jamie as well. Danny nodded, speculatively.

"I'll take him to dad's so he can sleep it off," he mentioned and hauled his brother up in a sitting position. Then he would sit him down for a serious talk.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, Danny," Eddie told the detective, when he hoisted his brother upright.

"Don't mention it. I'm glad that you did… get some rest now, I'll call you in the morning," he said and caught her eyes. He smiled his appreciation and nodded towards the door. Eddie caught the hint and a few minutes later she watched his car take off from the sidewalk.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 08:45 am, Bay Ridge**

Jamie padded silently down the stairs in the old house. He was hoping to be alone in the house, he didn't have the strength to handle a confrontation right now. As fate would have it, Henry was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in front of him.

"You look like something the cat dragged in," Henry huffed when eyeing his grandson's black eye and the split eyebrow. "Coffee?" He offered and was already pouring a cup. Kid looked like he needed it. A lot. Jamie had paused briefly but nodded and took a seat at the table.

"Thanks, Grandpa," Jamie responded and rolled his still sore shoulder. He made a mental note about buying some aspirins for his ribs. And his head, definitely his head, he thought and gulped the coffee down as fast as he could. He needed the kick.

"Care to share?" Henry asked and had turned his eyes back to the paper.

"Undercover work for Danny… some real sick people involved. Blood farming, organ harvesting, you name it," he sighed and emptied the mug.

"And the booze?" Henry asked, glancing at the young man.

"I don't know… I didn't think clearly," he said and stood from the chair. He said his goodbyes to Henry and left through the back door.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 10:00 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

"We will have ESU on scene, Baez takes the team to the front, Janko and I will take the back with Anderson. Canine units are standing by. The warrant is en route, it will be here in less than thirty minutes," Danny lectured to the assembly around him. The half circle around him had all been studying the whiteboard with names and pictures on it. It had been placed next to the door into the glass cubicle and amongst the pictures was a face without any description. Eddie and Baez were closest to Danny, then Gormley and his successor, Lieutenant Carver, followed by Erin, and the stubby ESU leader, Kevin Anderson, closed the circle. "We don't have an ID on this guy yet, so we…" Danny started but was cut off.

"Anton…" a voice peeped from the corner. All eyes came to rest on the battered, pale Jamie who had entered without them seeing him.

"How nice of you to join us," Danny spat out and received a stabbing glare from Erin and Baez smacked him on the shoulder lightly.

"His name is Anton, Eastern-European, strong accent," Jamie continued, unfazed. He had thrust his hands deep into the pocket of his jeans and the leather jacket was open, revealing a dark blue crew neck sweater. It matched the bruise on his eye.

"Jamie, dear God, what happened to you?" Erin burst out after a few moments in surprise and was already hovering next to him, inspecting the cuts and bruises on his face.

"I ran into his fists," he replied distantly and pushed away from the pillar next to Danny's chair, ignoring his sister's concern. "He reports to the 'Chief', possibly named Don. Six-two, two-fifty, speaks same language as Anton, but no accent, waddles with a slight limp on his right leg," Jamie continued as he stepped closer to the circle. His eyes moved from Danny's frowning face to Eddie and rested on her for a while. He repeated the sentence in the foreign language he had heard, and fought to remember, the night before and Eddie seemed to snap out of the trance she had been in.

"That's Serbian," Eddie exclaimed surprised without looking away from her partner. Baez immediately walked to her computer and typed in the new inputs.

"The Chief doesn't only deal in single organs. He has an entire floor dedicated to blood farming," Jamie continued and saw the faces around him go pale. "Now he has about eight people in cages, but he is waiting for a shipment that will make it to two dozen," he finished and finally broke the eye contact with Eddie to look at Danny. "And he's not the one on the top of the food chain," he remarked and crossed his arms.

"Anton Živković, Serbian, moved to New York three years ago, currently listed as unemployed, address is a match to where we followed him yesterday, no priors," Baez read aloud from her screen.

"Not to break up the fun, but we have to call in the Bureau on this one. It looks like we could use the help," Gormley mentioned, addressed to Danny.

"I think we should hold out on the bust. With this information it will be better to sit tight and wait," Anderson admitted.

"Detectives, revise your theory and get back to me when you have a plan," the lieutenant said and moved to her office. She closed the door behind her and was soon forgotten. The common feeling was to hit them now and hit them hard, but if they wanted to get the top dog as well, they had to think out a strategy. And that meant leaving the people in the cages for now.

"Baez, can you pull up any similar police reports from Belmont? For the last two days," Jamie asked and she keenly typed away.

"Belmont? What the heck is in Belmont?" Danny asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.

"You'll see in a minute," Jamie responded and looked at Eddie. "Can we talk?" He asked, a bit more subtle and she nodded carefully. They moved around the corner and Jamie opened the door into the observation room. There was an empty interrogation room on the other side of the glass. He made sure the door was closed and then he shoved his hands down in his pockets. He didn't want to fiddle nervously with his hands. Eddie leaned on the wall, waiting for her partner to open the conversation. Except he didn't. He was inert, quiet and only looked down on the floor, presumably finding the courage.

"Jamie, if you have something to say…" Eddie begun, tired of waiting, tired of the change she saw in him.

"I'm sorry… about everything. I didn't mean what I said, I was completely out of line," he said and breathed out deeply, now looking her directly in the eyes.

"You don't say," she replied and crossed her arms. She looked mad until she dropped her shoulders and sighed. "Let's talk later… we have work to do," she said, walked past him and out the door. Jamie was alone for a few seconds, until Danny walked in and closed the door.

"Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it. I don't need a brotherly lecture right now," Jamie sighed and turned around to open the door Danny had just closed. Except he couldn't, because Danny reached over his shoulder and stopped the door with his hand. Jamie turned around, anger in his eyes.

"Kid, when are you going to realize it? For someone who has a law degree from Harvard, you sure can be stupid, sometimes," Danny sighed wearily.

"Danny…" Jamie tried to break in.

"No, you listen to me, Jamie. This is much bigger than you… me… all of us. But that don't give you the right to pull away. Maybe you need it, fine. But how about the people you push away from? What about them?" Danny moved his hand from the door to Jamie's shoulder. "All the people out there, they are here for the case, the bust. They want to nail the assholes, except your partner. Eddie is here, because you are here. She wants you to get through this, and last night you pushed her away, like she was just another obstacle in front of you. Wake up, kid, and realize what you've got, before you lose it," Danny almost yelled at him and Jamie lowered his eyes in shame. He knew Danny was right. "And last night, when you showed up at her place, drunk… I have no words for that," Danny gasped and backed off as if he had been stunned.

"Danny…" Jamie tried again with no luck.

"That is not how you treat your partner. That is not how you treat Eddie, no matter what you consider her to be," Danny sighed exasperated and rested a hand on his hip while the other rubbed his face. "Go to 1PP… dad wants to talk to you," Danny finished, walked past him and out the door, just like Eddie had.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 11:00 am, 1 Police Plaza**

Abigail Baker opened the door to Frank's office and stepped in, still with a hand on the handle. He leaned back, awaiting her request or introduction.

"Sir, Officer Reagan has arrived," she stated promptly and the commissioner nodded and got up from his comfy chair, trailing to the seating area. Baker took a step further in and Jamie walked past her. He mumbled a thanks, she smiled reassuringly and closed the door behind her.

"How are you, Jamie?" Frank asked as he tilted on his toes with his hands in his pocket in the middle of the office.

"To be honest?.. I don't really know," he answered reluctantly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He sighed and looked at the floor, tracing the patterns.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Frank asked and Jamie's eyes locked on his. "It's always been easy to tell, when you have something on your mind," he continued and pointed to the couch. They both sat, silently.

"It's just something that Danny said that got to me," Jamie replied, hesitantly. "The worst part of it is, that he's never been more right," Jamie said matter-of-factly.

"Agreeing with Danny? Do I need to check your vitals?" Frank asked warmly, the smile clearly evident in his voice. Jamie couldn't stop the smile from forming on his lips as well. "What was he right about, son?" Frank continued after a few seconds and Jamie looked from the window to his father.

"About me, Eddie and everything…" Jamie replied and shrugged. "Almost everything," he corrected with half a smile.

"You care about her," Frank stated more than questioned. Jamie nodded slightly, didn't say anything at first.

"More than what's acceptable, yeah…" Jamie leaned back into the pillows Frank sighed, knowing what difficult decisions Jamie was facing.

"What are you going to do about it?" Frank asked, calmly. He couldn't say he was the least bit surprised by Jamie's revelation, but none the less he felt a flicker of happiness radiating from his son, when the topic turned to his partner.

"I have to talk to her…" Jamie replied distantly while looking out the window. The city was still hot and humid and it felt like a storm was coming, thought the sky was as blue as it had ever been. Blue and bright, strong enough to make everybody squint their eyes, even with sunglasses on.

"Take your time, son. You're not on patrol for the time being, so you don't have to rush into anything," Frank noticed. "For now, your secret is safe with me," he continued and earned a thankful look from his youngest son when he got up and moved to the door. " _A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down_ ," Frank quoted solemnly. Jamie thought a bit of the quote.

"Arnold Glasow," he finally decided, smiled and left the room. He closed the door behind him and Frank returned to his desk after pondering over the situation and looking out the window at his city.

" _Sir, ASAC Mulholland from the FBI is on line two for you, he says it's urgent,_ " Baker's voice scatted over the intercom. Frank pressed a button to reply.

"Thank you, Abigail," then he lifted the phone and leaned back with a smile. "Special Agent Mulholland, how may I help you?" he asked.

 _What do you think? I try to keep the chapters at the same length (because that's the only way my OCD can rest) of about five pages in a word document - is that length good enough for you guys or is too little? Change of topic - what do you think of the last episode?_


	7. Chapter 7

_Summer-surprice for you. This is a real kitten-level-fluffy one. Once again I apologize for the late update. Let me know how I did? You are awesome!_

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 12:00 pm, Erin's office**

Jamie knocked on the open door and walked in.

"Hey, sis," he said gently with a soft smile on his face. Erin looked up from her work, reading glasses placed on the tip of her nose. A mixed look of happiness, relief, anxiety and concern flashed over her face and she got up to walk around the desk and hug her brother tight.

"I'm so worried about you, Jamie, please, don't run off like that again," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Mom would have freaked out if she knew," she continued and pulled back with a smile.

"I know… I won't," he promised and his smile faded a little bit.

"Is this about Eddie?" Erin asked when they moved to sit in her visitor's chairs. Jamie's eyes flicked to hers.

"Don't tell me, you've talked with Danny… I need a pair of logical eyes," Jamie sighed and slumped in his seat.

"Not Danny…" Erin said and let her eyes wander over her beaten-up, tired brother. Jamie eyed her suspiciously. She saw the realization in his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, Eddie came by this morning, sat in that same chair," she said and nodded to the chair Jamie was in.

"What did she want?" Jamie asked, curious to why his partner had talked with his sister.

"I think you should talk with her about that," Erin stated and tilted her head. "Why did you come over?" she asked, turning back on topic.

"I…" Jamie started and fell silent. Why had he come over? He stared at a spot behind the desk. "It just seemed like the place to go," he admitted and ran a hand through his hair.

"You need to set it straight, this thing between you and Eddie. She's worried about you because you've changed, dramatically, since last week," Erin said kindly. Jamie nodded, thinking back to the night before and got up from the chair.

"You're right," he said and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you, I usually am," Erin conceded with a knowing smile.

"I'll see you later," Jamie replied with a half-hearted smile and left.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 08:00 pm, Erin's office**

Erin looked up from the papers in front of her, when she heard a knock on her open door.

"Officer Janko," Erin said, surprised by the visit and got up from her chair. "I'll take a wild guess and say you're not here because of the case?" Erin inquired and walked closer to her. Eddie hesitated for a second and then turned around to close the door behind her.

"You guessed right… and, please call me Eddie. It's Jamie… he's… I don't know… different," she finally said and took the seat appointed to her by Erin.

"Eddie," Erin tried. "What did he do?" she asked, worry in her voice. "I thought the two of you were thick as thieves," she stated and sat down in the chair next to her.

"Well, we are… were, maybe, I think…" Eddie sighed, frustrated. "We can talk about everything, literally, but last night he didn't want to talk to me at all… could you imagine what he saw inside the building? When he came back out, he was white as a ghost and beaten up," Eddie talked vivid and with a clear concern in her eyes.

"The building on North End Avenue?" Erin asked and Eddie nodded, puzzled. "Danny updated dad on what happened and he told me this morning," she explained.

"So you know he came to my place in the middle of the night, completely drunk?" Eddie asked carefully. She knew Danny would take Jamie to their dad's and he must have told Erin. She only nodded. "I'm worried about what this will do to him," she admitted and leaned back in the comfortable chair with a sigh.

"You want my advice?" Erin asked after a few seconds of silence.

"You knew, that's why I came here, right?" Eddie asked with half a smile and admired her skills in looking through people. She would have been a great detective, Eddie distantly thought. They talked for almost half an hour more, before Eddie decided to head back to the 54th.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 05:00 pm, 54** **th** **precinct**

After working through the day the team was slowing down. Danny, Baez, Jamie and Eddie had worked their sources, CI's and the system, working out a complex web of strings on the whiteboard. Evert once in a while, they had a break through, but mostly they worked in silence on their computers, much to Jamie's disappointment. He really needed to talk to Eddie, but since she had brushed him off, he had kept his distance. Danny had dragged Jamie along half of the day and he was just about exhausted, possibly because Danny knew about the tense situation between Jamie and Eddie. Six eyes came to rest on him at once and Jamie realized a phone was bussing in his pocket. He pulled out the burner and looked at it for a second, before he flipped it open to answer.

"Hello," he said dryly as Danny walked closer and pointed to his ear and then to the phone. Jamie nodded and put the phone on speaker.

" _Good, I wasn't sure if I would get you. Listen, unfortunately I have some problems in Belmont I have to take care of so you to help out here,_ " the Chief said and clearly waiting for a reply. Jamie looked to Danny who nodded encouragingly and then to Eddie, whose eyes had suddenly changed to a dark grey.

"Sure, I'll be there," Jamie responded after a second. He didn't really want to, but he had to. He had to get the people out of there and make sure the people who earned money this way was put behind bars.

" _Terrific,_ " came the short reply and the call was disconnected. Jamie looked at the phone in disbelief.

"What's wrong, kid?" Danny asked when he saw the look on his brother's face. Eddie and Baez turned their eyes to him as well.

"Nothing… it's nothing," he replied and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "I should get going," he continued and got to his feet. He pocketed the phone and took of his badge, which had been handing around his neck in a chain. He handed it to Danny who looked puzzled, but didn't say anything.

"Be careful, Jamie," Baez said from her desk. She knew those words would have and actual effect on him opposite to Danny. Jamie looked at Baez and nodded a promise.

"I'll call with an update," he said and headed for the elevator. When he was out of sight Eddie sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep up with this… with him," she admitted. The number of times Jamie had almost given her a heart attack was… she had given up on keeping a score.

"I know… he'll come back, though," Danny said and let himself drop into the chair Jamie had vacated. They had minimized the back-up and surveyed the area from a greater distance this time, but Danny was still on edge with all of it. He called the people who needed to know and gave them all the update, including Garrett, who would fill in the PC, Erin and Anderson, from the ESU. Not much longer the three of them made their way down to the car and drove off to the designated spot they all had agreed on.

 **Wednesday, August 30** **th** **, 06:00 pm, North End Avenue**

"Tomorrow night, you and Bugs will take care of the delivery. Sixteen items of mixed trait," Johnny said while walking out of the elevator. "There will be females on this side and males over there. It's your job to categorize them and keep the book up to date," he continued as they walked past the cages and through a door. "If you ever need some alone time with one of the items, the boss set up the next room. Only condition is, that they'll still be able to be produced," he said with a knowing look in his eyes. Johnny was the little guy that had opened the door for Jamie at the Emerald Pub. His eyes were scrutinizing and his voice was flimsy, he seemed smarter than he looked, Jamie thought.

"Categorize?" Jamie asked, trying to sound curious, ignoring the last comment.

"Blood types..." came Johnny's response when he closed the door behind them. Jamie heard the click of a lock. "What the hell do you think you are doing, huh?" he whispered with a strained voice. Inside the room was a collection of hospital beds, the ones on wheels. There were five beds placed in a right angle to one of the walls and five more mirroring them on the opposite wall. Jamie slowly turned to Johnny, hiding the worry in his eyes and body language.

"What are you talking about?" he countered and his eyes flinched to the knife in Johnny's hand. He was standing easily but the look on his face caught Jamie completely off guard.

"Waltzing in here, ready to work, it's a little too evident that you are not here for the money," Johnny spat out and before Jamie could blink, he was grabbed by the arm, spun around and pushed against the wall. He could feel the blade of the knife resting against his jaw and Johnny's forearm rested on his chest, so his movement was limited. He kept his arms down at his sides and looked straight into Johnny's eyes, forcing himself not to be intimidated.

"What? Are you afraid, that I'll take over your job, and the Chief will no longer need you, is that it?" Jamie hissed at the man only a few inches from him.

"I saw you field strip that gun, like it was your job. And you don't look like the type that needs a gun for protection," Johnny explained and stepped back, while he eyed Jamie up and down. He hid the knife again and corrected his shirt. "I'm on to you," he smiled conspiratorially and backed up a step more.

"What are you talking about? You think I'm a cop? Don't be ridiculous, Johnny, come on... listen to yourself," Jamie said relaxed. Inside he was panicking and he could hear the blood rush in his ears. Johnny eyed him over once again and then nodded. Jamie could see him thinking hard until someone tried to open the door behind them.

" _Yo, Johnny? Bugs wants you on level two… now,_ " a voice shouted from the other side of the door and knocked a few times. He stared at Jamie and they both sidestepped until Johnny could open the door. He leaned on the sill and smiled at the man outside.

"I'll be right down, give me a couple of minutes," he replied and the man looked over his shoulder and glared at Jamie. Then he nodded, carefully, turned slowly and walked away. Johnny turned to Jamie again and nodded thoughtfully. "I don't like you," he stated. Jamie didn't reply, none of them moved. "We're going to finish this later," he continued and bit his lip. Then he lifted a hand and poked Jamie on the chest. "Be careful… Skeet," he finished scornfully and exited the room. A few seconds later, Jamie let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He realized it was shaking, looked at the door for a second and then leaned against the wall. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes and concentrated on his breath. This development could be risky, he determined and pulled himself together once again. He decided to steer clear of Johnny for the remainder of the night and then get back to safety in his home. And make sure that no body followed him.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 02:00 am, Flatiron District**

Jamie managed to step into his apartment and flick on the lights before he realizes someone was there. For a second his heart was sprinting but when his eyes saw the familiar handbag and jacket he quickly relaxed. His badge and a key were lying next to them. Like a good luck charm, he ran his finger over his partner's belongings on the counter and walked to the fridge where he grabbed a couple of beers, knowing Eddie wouldn't pass on an offer like that. Then he proceeded to the living room and saw the blonde, messy hair on the armrest but nothing else. He sat on the table in front of the couch.

"Eddie..?" he called gently, she only stirred in response and he placed the beers on the table so he could move the blanket. "Hey, Janko…" he said a little bit louder and she opened he eyes.

"Reagan," she said sleepily with a furrow in her brow and looked around. Then she looked like she remembered where she was and she sat up with sleep in her eyes. "How did it go?" she asked and looked out the window, when Jamie handed her one of the bottles. "What time is it?" she asked and yawned. Jamie wondered for a brief second why she couldn't look at him. He shrugged and popped open the beer to have a sip.

"Two in the morning," he replied and massaged his temples. "I would ask how you got in, but I saw the key," he continued and let scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, yeah, sorry… Danny gave it to me, so I could drop of your badge on my way home… I guess I fell asleep," she said and kept her eyes on the bottle in her hand. "I should get going," she mumbled and placed the unopened beer on the table and got to her feet. When she turned around, Jamie grabbed her hand and pulled her back while he got to his feet. They didn't move for what felt like a couple of minutes, Eddie starring into his chest, avoiding eye contact. Jamie kept her hand in his, their finger almost interlaced.

"Eddie…" he said quietly, she looked down and Jamie raised his hand so he could lift up her chin. Finally their eyes met and he smiled kindly. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, I don't know what came over me," he started and Eddie's eyes flickered down for a second.

"No, it's all right, I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I know you wouldn't have done it, if it wasn't for what you saw inside that building," she explained and forced out a brave smile. This time it was Jamie's turn to look down.

"I felt so helpless in there… but now I'm just… hollow," he sighed with his eyes on their hands.

"Don't think like that, Jamie," Edie replied earnestly and lifted their joined hands. She flattened his hand over her chest where her heart would be and kept her hand on top of his. "You fell this?" she asked and then moved his hand to the same place on his chest. "You can't be hollow… I won't let you," she said quietly and Jamie lifted his eyes again. They were rimmed with red by tiredness and glassy. She closed her hand around his and squeezed it reassuringly. "You are Jamie Reagan… and we are going to bring them down," she said supportively.

"Eddie, I don't know if I can…" Jamie started but didn't know which words to choose. He sighed again, looked around before he closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and let it out hesitantly and trembling. "I don't know if I want to be alone," he breathed out and looked pleadingly at the blonde in front of him. She nodded understandingly, took a step forward and wrapped her arms firmly around his waist and leaned against his shoulder. She remembered the night where it had been the other was around. When she was dealing with her shooting, Jamie had done the exact same thing for her.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 05:30 am, Flatiron District**

Jamie opened his eyes instantly and froze. For a second he saw the last flash of the dream that had haunted him before it disappeared and he was left with nothing but the feeling of a terrible dream. At once he saw, remembered and felt Eddie next to him, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm lying on his stomach, her hand on his chest. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and let himself relax and breathed out. Eddie stirred and moved her hand a bit before she lifted her head sleepily.

"You all right?" she whispered when she saw the expression in his face and the semi-wild eyes. Jamie only nodded and looked at her eyes more gently.

"Just a dream…" he explained and she nodded, knowingly.

"That's all it is," she said quietly and snuggled her head back onto his shoulder. Her fingers started moving around in circles and Jamie instantly relaxed.

"Thanks, Eddie... for everything," he whispered in her hair and she nodded, already sleeping again.

"You owe me big time, Reagan," she manage to mumble and he could feel her smile. "Go back to sleep," she said and yawned once again before her breathing changed. Jamie could do nothing but smile at her and close his eyes again.

 _I hope you like it - the ending is open for interpretation (;_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hellow! Here's the long-awaited next chapter :) I'm just about to wrap it up. I hope you like this one. How would you like the ending? Leave a comment. /K._

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 08:30 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

"Hey, kid?" Danny called from the other side of the desk. Jamie moved his gaze to look at his brother with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, what do you got?" he asked and straightened up in his seat. They were practically alone, their partners not in yet.

"A very distracted kid brother, that's what I got," Danny replied and leaned back in his chair. "Eddie?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Jamie looked at him, with piercing eyes and but it changed to a deflated look and he sighed.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked and rolled his shoulders, mimicking his brother's posture. Danny nodded and sighed.

"Just don't go and break her heart… she deserves better than that, to put up with you," Danny said jokingly with a touch of honesty. Jamie looked at him, suspiciously. "I'm just saying, she is your partner on the job and you can't exactly have both," Danny explained. Jamie nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess, that's why I requested another partner this morning," Jamie replied after a few seconds, earning a surprised look from Danny's side of the desks. Jamie nodded, conformingly.

"Uh-huh," Danny murmured and crossed his arms. "What did Renzulli say?" he asked and Jamie shrugged.

"He wasn't surprised, but he was happy with my decision… I guess, he had known for quite some time," Jamie sighed and smiled by the memory of his sergeant asking about his feelings.

"So, what are you going to do?" Danny asked.

"I don't know," Jamie replied honestly. "Right now, I have to focus on this bust… there's an incoming shipment tonight. I'd say that will be enough to take down all of them. Then we can have the Chief rat out on his boss…" Jamie suggested and shrugged once more.

"All right, I'll start pushing the papers up the ladder," Danny confirmed and lifted the phone on his desk.

"I'll be back in half an hour," Jamie informed him and got to his feat. Danny looked at him puzzled. "I forgot my badge at home," he explained and moved to the elevator.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 08:50 am, Flatiron District**

It hadn't been more than an hour and a half, since he had left his apartment that morning. Eddie had left, half an hour earlier, to head home for a shower and a change of clothes. He smiled vaguely when he locked himself in and closed the door behind him. He walked straight to the counter where he remembered seeing it the day before, only he couldn't find it. He looked at the floor, unsuccessful, and pulled out his phone to text Eddie. Maybe she had accidently brought it home with her. That was when he felt the presence behind him and before he could turn, he was struck in the back of his head and fell to the floor with a thump and a groan. The phone skidded across the floor with the keys. Jamie lay still for a second on his side, trying to get his eyes to focus on the boots in front of him. He could feel a warm fluid trickle down the back of his head. He grunted and lifted his hand to draw his weapon from the small of his back, under the light jacket. It was pulled out of his fingers, as easy as lifting it from the ground, disassembled and tossed to the floor. The man in the boots squatted down in front of Jamie's face and smiled at him. Not a face he had seen before, Jamie determined before he passed out and the blackness surrounded him entirely. The man heaved him up and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and walked out the door.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 10:00 am, 54** **th** **precinct**

"He's not answering," Danny grumbled and sighed exasperated. Jamie had been gone for almost an hour and a half, which was a whole hour more than he needed.

"Are you sure he went back to his apartment?" Baez asked from her chair, looking at Danny pacing a hole in the floor.

"That's what he said, damnit," Danny growled and picked up the phone again. He ordered a trace on Jamie's number, waited and huffed a response before hanging up. "At least that's where his phone is," Danny said and leaned bang, rubbing his eyes.

"Let's just go check up on him, then?" Eddie suggested impatiently and the two detectives looked at her. "What? It can't be more intrusive, than tracing his phone, right?" she asked.

"Let's go," Danny murmured and grabbed the jacket off his chair.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 10:10 am, Flatiron District**

"That's his car, right?" Baez asked and nodded down the road. Eddie nodded and looked at the building. Danny was already through the door and they had to run to catch up with him. When they reached the right floor they stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the slightly open door. Immediately the unholstered their weapons and moved forward with caution. Danny shouldered the door open just enough to squeeze through and moved in quick and efficiently with Baez behind him, clearing the apartment. Eddie had stopped in the hallway, looking at the phone, the keys and the disassembled gun on the floor. Not far away was a little puddle of dried blood, no bigger than the length of a thumb. Danny and Baez returned to the hallway and stared at the dried patch of blood. Danny cursed under his breath while Baez called it in.

"We have to move on them now," Danny growled impatiently.

"What about the shipment? If we bust half of them now, all this work was for nothing," Baez said emphatically.

"What about Jamie? They attacked an officer! My kid brother!" Danny cried out, almost ripping his hair out.

"Right now, you'll start by telling your family. They need to know what's going on," Baez sighed.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 10:30 am, 1 Police Plaza**

Frank was sitting in the conference room, next to his office. Joining him at the table was Garrett, Sid, the sergeant from 6th, the assistant district attorney, the district attorney himself and Erin as the Bureau Chief. They were discussing the latest problem with the usual sit down when Baker stepped through the door with a grave expression in her face.

"Sir, Mrs. Reagan," she began to get their attention, with her hands clamped together behind her back. Erin and Frank looked at her, expectantly. "Detective Reagan and Officer Janko is in your office. Family matter," she announced and Erin looked at Frank, worry written all over her face as she got to her feet.

"Thank you, Baker," he said, a bit more uptight than he had been ten seconds ago. "Please, continue," he said to the rest of the assembled people around the table, trusting Garrett to do his job for him. The two Reagan's walked through the other door and Frank silently closed the door behind them, pausing to put up the stone face behind the moustache. Danny stopped his pacing and looked at his father and sister with a whipped-puppy-look on his face. Eddie was behind him, leaning on the armrest of the couch, with crossed arms and a blank expression in her face.

"Danny, what's..?" Erin started, tears already making her eyes blurry.

"It's Jamie… it's possible that his cover was blown. He was jumped in his apartment this morning," Danny explained and his eyes traced from Erin to Frank.

"Do you know where he is?" Frank asked, worry altering his voice to a pitch higher.

"The office building on North End Avenue is where everything is happening, so he could be there," Danny offered.

"He could be there? Why do I feel a there is 'but' coming?" Erin demanded, keeping the tears in check. Frank moved to his chair behind the desk and sat down, wearily. He glanced at Eddie, still leaning on the couch, eyes empty, shoulders dropped.

"But…" Danny sighed. "If we hit them now, they'll spook and we won't have a snowball's chance in hell to save the two dozen people there will arrive tonight," he explained grumpy.

"Danny," Erin said with blame in her now thick voice.

"I don't like it either, but it's our only way to secure those people. Innocent, captured people with families looking for them," he replied to the tone in her voice. So many words were left unspoken, all they needed was to look at each other. Erin sighed shakily and sat down in a chair.

"Jamie would want us to bring them home safely, to their families. Even if it should come to this," Eddie offered carefully from her position in the background. All three of the Reagan's looked at her, only Frank shifted in his chair and sighed.

"You're right, Janko," he muttered and nodded slowly.

"Dad…" Erin tried, now sounding deflated.

"I'm not saying he's without backup," Frank said slowly. "But he knows how to handle himself in a situation like this," he continued and looked from Erin to Danny.

"What if he's already…" Erin started but couldn't finish.

"Let's not go there," Frank said quietly and sighed. All of them were reminded of Joe, even Eddie remembered all the stories Jamie had told about him and she lowered her eyes.

"He won't," Danny muttered and Erin's eyes moved to him again. "I won't forgive myself if that happened," he continued and looked down, more defeated than anything.

"Danny... if you need any help, don't hesitate to call me," Frank said, eyes sharp. "Bring him back," he continued and Danny nodded. He made a motion to Eddie and she followed him to the door, stopped before exiting.

"Jamie will be fine," she said when she glanced over her shoulder with a soft smile, before she exited and caught up with Danny.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 03:30 pm, North End Avenue**

Jamie woke up abruptly when a bucket of cold water hit him. He trashed around and gasped for air before he realized he was in restraints and his eyes fell on the big form in front of him with a disapproving look in his bulky eyes. Jamie looked around in the room with the beds, half of them occupied by pale, young people with drains in their shins and needles in their elbows. The tubes in the shins were red with blood and circled all the way to a small bag. Cleat fluids ran into their arms, so they wouldn't dehydrate, probably some form of saline, a salt water mix. All of them looked unresponsive and dazed. Jamie felt a lump form in his throat.

"Skeet… or should I say Jamie Reagan?" the Chief asked and sighed before he sat down in a chair behind him, next to the heightened bed. The leather straps around his wrists and ankles were tight, tight enough to bruise, he could feel. Jamie had clamped his mouth shut, not saying anything to provoke the bastard in front of him. "Johnny had me convinced to get you checked out… so I did. And you know what?" the Chief asked from the small seat. Jamie only looked at him in contempt as he smiled.

"This was found in your apartment," Johnny said and stepped through the door in the corner. He held up Jamie's badge as he moved closer, the Chief didn't move, only looked at Jamie.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that looks like a shield. And 6-0-5-2-8 checked out to belong to Officer Jamie Reagan of the famous Reagan-family of law enforcement," the Chief said educationally, remembering the number by heart.

"Set him up for a session, but take it from the arm. Collect all of it, but don't bother keeping him alive," the Chief said when he got to his feet, strained and awkwardly.

"Yes, sir, it'll be my pleasure," Johnny responded and smiled at Jamie.

"Oh, no need to hurry it either, use one of the smaller needles and tubes," he continued when he waddled to the door and exited the room.

"You didn't think I would check you out?" Johnny asked when he moved to a cabinet on the other side of the wall and found the different supplies needed for an IV.

"You won't get away with this," Jamie hissed at the man when he returned to the bed and yanked at the restraints again.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, idiot," he mumbled and unpacked the syringe. Jamie squirmed, tried to move away, but without luck. "Lay still, pincushion," he continued and inserted the needle in Jamie's elbow. The tube filled slowly, Jamie followed the blood with his eyes and sighed in anguish.

"You're so stupid, Johnny," Jamie laughed nervously and turned his eyes to look at the ceiling while shaking his head.

"Aha… and why is that, Jamie Reagan?" Johnny asked when connecting the other end of the tube to a bag.

"You should get out when you can. This is your only warning," Jamie continued as the blood continued to flow. He tried to slow down his pulse, so it wouldn't flow that fast.

"All right… I'll be back in half an hour. By then the bag will be filled and I will change it," Johnny said, unaffected by Jamie's warning, and moved to the door.

"You won't get away with this, Johnny!" Jamie yelled after him, but the man hardly even reacted. The door was closed behind him and Jamie could hear the click of a lock. He sighed and looked at the needle in his arm. Once again he tested the restraints, although he knew it was hopeless. Fear crept over him and once again he tried hard to slow his pulse down.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 05:45 pm, North End Avenue**

"We can't wait much longer, Danny," Baez said from the passenger seat of the silver grey Charger.

"I know, but nothing has happened. The shipment is not here yet," he responded grimly and looked out at the sky. Black clouds were contracting above the city and it seemed much darker than normal. A fat raindrop hit the windshield with a thud.

"Could that be it?" Eddie asked from the backseat and pointed ahead to the old dark blue Mercedes with small scraps of painting missing.

"It sure looks big enough," Danny said and turned on the engine.

"It has to be it," Baez said when it indicated to turn into the parking garage underneath the building and Danny eased out on the road. He grabbed the radio from the center console and pressed the transmit button.

"All units, stand by," he commented and turned into the garage. They rolled down the ramp with no lights and minimal sound. Just ahead of them the van had backed up to a delivery platform and the backdoors had been opened. Two big men manhandled a smaller from the van and around the corner.

"We got them," Baez mumbled under her breath when the two men hauled another person out.

"All units, move in," Danny reported in the radio and the car plunged forwards, engine roaring. A symphony of sirens were flicked on outside and shortly after the parking garage was a flicker of red and blue. The charger came to a halt at an angle in front of the docks, all three of them spilling out with weapons high. The man on the right had spun around and pulled out his own gun, though he was fast to change his mind, when he saw he couldn't shoot himself out of this mess. His partner wasn't as smart as him and flung his aim to the charger and fired off a couple of bullets. Danny was quickly to return fire and dropped the man instantly. "Baez, take care of them," he yelled and nodded towards the people in the van. He cuffed the guy on the right and checked his partner for a pulse. Nothing. He blurted out a series of words that Danny didn't understand.

"Fourth floor! Now!" Eddie almost yelled when she understood and sprinted towards the stairs, fear in her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello, my dear readers! I know this is a bit late, (lately I've been pulled in every direction every day, so haven't had much time) but I hope you'll think it was worth the wait... I'm just about to wrap it up, so if you have any particular wishes or suggestions, now is the time to speak out loud. (I already have an idea for the story forming in my head). I hope you like it and that you will leave a review._

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 06:00 pm, North End Avenue**

The bucket of water had cooled him down nicely in the heat, but now Jamie was actually shivering, probably because he didn't have the proper amount of blood to send the heat around in his body. His clothes were clammy and cold, and he could feel his joints starting to stiffen up because he couldn't move and the fact that Johnny had changed the blood bags a couple of times. Everything was a blur and he felt lightheaded, another side effect of blood loss, he thought distantly. The door opened and Jamie tilted his head to the side. His heart sunk another few inches as he groaned by the sight of Johnny. Right now he just wanted to go home to a warm bed and… Eddie… A knot formed in his stomach and Jamie did his best to keep his teeth from chattering by clenching his jaws.

"Officer Reagan… I'm surprised that you are still awake. Not many people will be awake, let alone alive after two bags," Johnny laughed and hopped on to Jamie's bed, next to his knees. "You know, when the Chief's boss heard about you, he rushed down here to meet you in person… I haven't even met the man, but he's a legend! Anyway… I'm sorry you have to go this way…" he said and leaned closer, speaking more quietly. "If I was in charge, I would have kept you alive and then called your daddy. I'm sure he would pay a good deal of money to get you back… in one piece," Johnny snickered and padded Jamie on the thigh. Outside, in the distance, they heard a door opening and the sound of shuffling feet, Johnny didn't think twice about it. He probably thought it was the new load. He moved to the other side of the bed and removed the bag of blood, packing it down in a cooling box next to the bed. He whistled… the national anthem, Jamie noticed.

"Why… are you… doing… this..?" Jamie whispered. He barely had the strength to talk anymore. Johnny turned around to look at him with a fake sad smile.

"For the money, of course… why else?" he snickered again. The door flew open and his face changed to one of panic.

"POLICE!" Danny shouted and took up stance inside the door. More people spilled in behind him. "Drop your weapon!" he continued and Jamie realized that Johnny had pulled out the knife and rested it on his neck, below the ear. He noticed that one of them was a bit shorter than the others and had blonde, messy hair. Johnny shouted back a response trying to outshout the group of police officers coming through the door and the distant thunder.

"I goes, he goes!" Johnny shouted back for the umpteenth time. His laugh had changed to one of crazy, like his eyes, thinking he was safe behind Jamie and the knife. Outside, a flicker of light made Johnny's face more distorted for less than a second. A roll of thunder tore through the silence outside. Jamie closed his eyes, the exhaustion and blood loss pulling him slowly down into the cold, silent and lonely darkness. A lightning flickered again for a good few seconds, immediately followed by the loud thunder. Everything flickered inside. Johnny shouted and lifted the knife in a quick move. A collection of shots was fired when the lights went out, Johnny staggered backwards and collided with the next bed. The knife clanked to the floor in the silent dark and a second later, feet shuffled closer. The silence was deafening, the echoes of the gunshots and the thunder rolled away in the distance and the darkness was kind of soothing.

"Jamie, open your eyes, please, come on," Eddie mumbled and clapped him softly on his cheek while Danny loosened the restraints. A flashlight was handed to Danny and he shone it at Johnny and then Jamie.

"Stay awake, kid," Danny grumbled and rubbed Jamie's chest to heat him up. He didn't like the pale skin and the blue lips. Eddie removed the needle from the pit of his elbow.

"I knew… you would… come," Jamie whispered and smiled vaguely when he looked at Eddie.

"Hey, what about me?" Danny laughed, more strained than anything, playing hurt. Jamie shifted his gaze to his brother.

"You too, Danny… you too," Jamie smiled and closed his eyes for a second. Baez materialized from behind Danny.

"Bus will be here in less than a minute," she announced carefully.

"Eddie, you stay here and make sure he doesn't fall asleep. We'll clear the rest of the building and get the Chief into custody," Danny stated and leaned over Jamie. "Stay awake, kid, I'll be right back," he continued softly and handed Eddie the flashlight before they left the dark room. Another lightning flickered outside the windows and even though it wasn't late, it was darker than the city.

"Reagan, you have to keep your eyes open, you hear me?" Eddie pleaded and squeezed his hand.

"I can… do that," Jamie mumbled just as another lightning flashed and thunder clasped loudly. Rain started pouring down, splashing on the windows.

"Good… but don't ever do something like this again, Reagan!" Eddie scolded him and ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't know if I could deal with losing a partner," she admitted.

"I don't want to… be… your partner… anymore," Jamie whispered and caught her eyes. She didn't have the time to reply, when a flashlight found them from the door and paramedics came in. Eddie moved to give them room, but she didn't take her eyes of Jamie's.

"Mild hypothermia and blood loss," one of the paramedics noted. Eddie saw the glance they shared before picking up the pace.

"Let's load him up and get out of here," the other one replied and soon after they were going down in the elevator.

 **Thursday, August 31** **th** **, 07:00 pm, St. Vincent's**

Eddie was slumped in a chair in the cafeteria, looking around, her feet stretched out in front of her. Her eyes connected with a man across the room and he quickly looked down at his sandwich. She had left the Reagan's in the waiting room and used the poor coffee as an excuse to get out. Now there was a cup of hot mud in front of her, untouched.

"That bad?" Nicky asked when she sat down on the other side of the table and Eddie looked up at her with a sarcastic nod. She laughed when Nicky lifted the cup to her nose and smelled. The face she made was sure to make anyone smile.

"I'm sorry, I needed to get away from…" Eddie apologized and sat up straighter. She sighed when she realized how it sounded. "It's not you guys, I mean, you're all amazing… it's…" she sighed once again and ran a hand through her hair.

"That sounds like a break-up," Nicky commented dryly and both of them laughed.

"I know… I can't deal with the waiting," Eddie continued, pleased to have someone to talk with even though it was her partner's niece.

"The not-knowing?" Nicky asked and Eddie nodded. "Don't worry… he'll be fine," Nicky continued with a smile. "It's Uncle Jamie," she explained when Eddie looked at her with hopeful eyes and received a smile.

"Anything new?" Eddie asked and Nicky nodded.

"That's why I was looking for you," Nicky replied and continued. "His temperature is back up along with his blood levels. The doctor said he was exhausted and a bit confused, but he is positive that he will make a full recovery," Nicky reported and got to her feet again.

"That's a relief," Eddie breathed out with a smile.

"Yeah, come on… I'm sure Uncle Jamie would appreciate a visit," Nicky continued and Eddie needed no more to prompt her to her feet. A few minutes later they knocked on the door to Jamie's room and walked in. Jamie was sitting in the bed, propped up against pillows, covered head to toe, and turned his head to look at them and his smile grew wide.

"Hey, what do you know, that's my two favorite girls," he burst out and yawned.

"I guess, that would be our cue," Erin announced and got to her feet with Danny by her side. Danny grinned and padded Jamie before heading to the door.

"Oh, Danny, remæind to ask Linda about that thing, you know," Jamie called after him and Danny's face changed to glare at Jamie.

"All right, you got me… I call a truce," Danny said and sighed. He followed Erin and Nicky out. "I can't believe you told him about that, sis..." Danny complained, his voice lessened. Erin and Nicky laughed in the distance. Eddie closed the door with a smile and walked to the bedside.

"What was that about?" She asked conspiratorially and sat on the bed.

"Danny's busting my chops about you and Erin gave me some leverage," Jamie giggled. Eddie looked at the door.

"Nothing is sacred, is it?" she laughed at him and took his hand in hers. It was still a little bit cold, she noticed. Jamie shook his head.

"Not in this family," he mumbled and closed his fingers around hers.

"I'm glad you're all right," Eddie said quietly and smiled at her partner. Jamie nodded his agreement. "I don't know what I would do, if I had to get a new partner… it's not like the best one's are hanging on the trees," she mentioned. Jamie looked at her, curiosity in his eyes.

"How did you find out?" he asked her suspiciously when he connected the dots. It hadn't been more than twelve hours and he hadn't had the chance to talk with Eddie all day for obvious reasons. She laughed at his epiphany.

"Oh, please, did you really think I wouldn't? Renzulli called med in and asked me about it this morning, but he realized that I knew nothing about it. Then the snowball rolled and I had a talk with Erin, then Danny and then Frank. I'm pretty sure they knew, by the way. And Nicky introduced me to Pops, when they arrived and…" she stopped talking when she saw the look on Jamie's face.

"I get captured for a day and you're already BFF's with all of my family?" Jamie asked and Eddie nodded, struggling to keep back the laughter. His face was hilarious.

"So, I got back to the precinct and Renzulli sorted it all out. He even gave me my own rookie, starting on Monday," she continued and let it all sink in.

"Wait, what? You're a TO?" Jamie asked, now even more confused and Eddie nodded eagerly. He went silent for a few moments, he was clearly a bit dazed and tired as he yawned again. "That's great, congrats, Janko," he said and smiled at her when the door opened. Linda and Danny came in with Jack and Sean in tow. Eddie gave Jamie a quick smile and got to her feet.

"I'll come back later, Reagan," she told him and excused herself before she left the room. Danny followed her out, putting his work-face back on.

"We didn't get the Chief, he wasn't anywhere in the building," Danny sighed.

"You don't think…" Eddie began and looked at him and he shook his head, knowing what she would ask. "I don't think so, but as a precaution, dad is making some calls to get a few plain clothes up here," he continued.

"And the feds?" Eddie asked, knowing they had been looped in, when Jamie was ambushed. Baez and Frank joined them, his detail not far away.

"ASAC Mulholland is coordinating with their offices in Washington, Miami and Orlando and they have guys in Belmont, checking out the status up there," Baez explained.

"For now it is out of our hands, but if the Chief or his superior even sneezes in my city, we'll be the first to know," Frank assured them and looked at Danny, silently pleading his oldest son to not do anything foolish.

"Do we know who was in Jamie's apartment? Or what the superior looks like?" Eddie asked and Baez reached into her pocket.

"Neighbor, from across the street, saw this man in a grey sedan driving off at 9 am. It could be nothing," Baez said when Eddie glanced at the sketch. She squinted and tilted her head.

"It could be something… I'm not sure," she mumbled and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember. "He was different…" she continued.

"What is it?" Frank asked and looked at the sketch. Eddie ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She hummed and walked around for a few seconds until she froze.

"He looked at me… he kept an eye on me, but that wasn't him," she said and scrutinized the sketch again. "He looked older," she said and hesitated.

"Who?" Danny asked, no, demanded. Eddie looked up.

"In the cafeteria, twenty minutes ago," she only replied.

"Dad…" Danny started and looked at the door, his face saying it all.

"Go," Frank only prompted and turned to the head of his detail, Detective Nuciforo. Danny, Baez and Eddie moved quickly down the hallway and a minute later they entered the overflowing cafeteria. It seemed like all the personal was having dinner at the same time.

"Eddie, you see him?" Danny asked as they moved through the crowds. She shook her head while scouting the around.

"He's not here," she called to Danny when they reached the end of the cafeteria.

"We should go back upstairs, maybe we passed him already," Baez said when she joined them at the end.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there," Eddie replied. A couple of minutes later Danny and Baez walked down the hallway and relaxed at the sight before them. Nothing had changed, except for Frank's detail outside the door, which was a very good sign. They had taken up stance outside, looking very capable and alert. One of them opened the door for the duo and Frank and Jamie turned their heads to look at them.

"He could be anywhere," Danny grumbled and placed his hands on his hips.

"Show him the sketch, Baez," Frank said and took a seat in the chair in the corner. Baez found the piece of paper and unfolded it before handing it to Jamie.

"That's the guy," Jamie confirmed and nodded. "I've never seen him before, until he knocked me out this morning," he continued and handed the paper back to Baez. They all fell silent for a few seconds.

"Well, we can't search through the whole hospital," Baez recognized with a sigh and a shrug.

"I'll have Sid coordinate teams on every entrance of this floor," Frank said and got to his feet. "Linda and the boys went home," he continued when he passed Danny and moved out of the door to make the call. Baez grabbed her phone when it buzzed in her pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"Mulholland," she explained and exited the room to take the call. Danny heaved himself down in the chair Frank had vacated and blew out a deep breath between his teeth.

"Have you and Eddie talked yet?" Danny asked when resting his head on the knuckles of his left hand. Jamie shrugged and looked down, deflated.

"We haven't exactly had the time," he replied and smiled to himself. "She mentioned that Renzulli made her a TO," Jamie laughed and leaned his head back.

"That's great, kid… for both of you," Danny replied and looked out the window. It had been raining ever since they breached the building on North End Avenue but at least the thunder and lightning had stopped. "You did good on this case," Danny continued a bit more hesitantly. To praise his kid brother wasn't something he was renowned for. It was just as unusual to hear him apologize and both of them knew how much it took from Danny to actually say these kind of things.

"Thanks, Danny," Jamie replied, trying not making a big fuss out of it. Although he did start to laugh. "You think you can say that again at Sunday dinner?" he continued with a smile to his older brother.

"Don't push your luck, kid. This week you have been walking around, like a cat with ten lives," Danny laughed dryly.

"Nine…" Jamie corrected him with a laugh. But that sounded true enough. He had been way too lucky for his own good this week.

"What?" Danny asked from the chair.

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter. /K._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello! Here's the last chapter of this story. Enjoy._

 **Friday, September 1** **st** **, 08:00 pm, Flatiron District**

"I really appreciate you doing this, Eddie," Jamie thanked her when he opened the door to his apartment.

"That's what partner's do for each other, but for now you're stuck with me until this rain stops," Eddie said mildly irritated, brushing his gratefulness off as she walked inside and closed the door behind her. Jamie threw his keys on the counter and leaved his soaking wet jacket on the back of a chair. Eddie did the same with her jacket and removed the dripping hair from her face. She looked at Jamie when she realized he had stopped moving. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked with a laugh when their eyes connected.

"We aren't…" Jamie said with a mixture of surprise, relief and disappointment.

"We aren't what?" Eddie asked and twisted her hair over the sink.

"We aren't partners anymore," Jamie said after a pause and Eddie looked at him.

"I know," Eddie sighed dramatically. "Now I get to actually drive the car," she laughed and walked past him, heading for the couch. Jamie smiled after her and retrieved a pair of beers from the fridge and followed her. He handed her one of them and heaved himself down next to her while she flickered through the channels. For a while they did nothing but sip at their beers and look at the TV. Eddie turned it off with a sigh and left the remote on the table when she didn't find anything worth watching.

"I'm hungry," Eddie said all of a sudden.

"Pizza?" Jamie asked quickly and got to his feet to find a menu from a nearby place. The hospital food he had been eating the last twenty four hours hadn't been the best and right now he craved a pizza.

"Definitely…" Eddie complied, "Anything with mushrooms," she continued and moved to the window. Through the rain she could sense the cruiser a bit down the street. It was there to keep an eye on the front door of the building. In the kitchen, she could hear Jamie placing the order and hang up a minute later. Then the phone buzzed and Jamie answered it.

"Danny," Jamie replied with a sigh.

" _Hey kid, did you get home in one piece?_ " Danny asked with a grin in his voice.

"Yeah, everything's good, we just ordered pizza," Jamie replied and glanced through the room at Eddie's back.

" _Great, I'm on my way,_ " Danny replied.

"I didn't even invite you," Jamie protested and sighed.

" _Doesn't matter, I think I've figured out how to find them,_ " Danny said, whisking away Jamie's protest.

"All right… it better be good," Jamie gave in.

 _"_ _I promise, I'll make it up to you… and bring beers,_ " Danny offered.

"Yeah, like that's going to change anything," Jamie muttered when he disconnected the call and sighed. "Fifteen minutes… and Danny's coming over," he announced loud enough so that Eddie could hear him and left his phone on the counter when he walked back. He placed his beer on the coffee table and moved over to the window. Looking over Eddie's shoulder, he spotted the squad car outside. "You think they'll do something stupid?" he asked her quietly and she shrugged, finding the reflection of her eyes in the glass.

"They're still out there… and they did get to you once," she said and turned around with worry in her eyes. "You don't think they'll try again?" she asked him and Jamie nodded subtly.

"I have better things to think about, right now," he mumbled and stepped closer and caught her hand in his. Eddie placed her other hand on his chest and looked at her fingers.

"We can't exactly blame it on the alcohol this time," she replied and looked up.

"Does it matter?" Jamie asked and kept his eyes on hers.

"Not anymore," Eddie whispered before their lips met. Breathless, they both took a step back when they heard the knocking on the door. "I'll get it," Eddie said and cleared her throat when she passed him and hurried to the door. Jamie followed her with his gaze for a moment and then walked to the coffee table to retrieve his beer. Eddie opened the door, expecting a delivery guy and froze for a moment when she recognized the man from the sketch, except he was twice the size of her. "REA…" was all she had time to shout when the surprisingly fast man grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the wall. She fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, eyes rolling and pink stars clouding her vision. Jamie had turned around in time to see the big man step over Eddie's still form. He recognized the boots and the face from the previous encounter with the man, only a day and a half ago.

"Janko!" he yelled, his pulse already pumping in his ears when he charged at the man. It might not have been the smartest move when he was unarmed and his opponent the size of his father, but he didn't think clearly. He couldn't. He didn't even get to lay a hand on the guy before he was hit in the left side with a fist, big enough to make a few of his ribs crack and send him to the floor.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for my business, Reagan," the man grunted irritated and kneeled next to a panting Jamie on the floor.

"Your business?" Jamie coughed when connecting the dots. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He was looking at the Chief's superior… who wasn't afraid to do his own dirty work, Jamie thought.

"Exactly," the big man said when he saw Jamie's eyes change to one of disgust. "You see, I took over the business from my father, but I started out as just another worker," the man snickered.

"You don't have a business anymore," Jamie replied and saw how the fury in the man's eyes boiled, before he was grabbed by the neck and hauled to his feet.

"Exactly," the big man hissed and squeezed. Jamie couldn't breathe. He clawed at the man's hands and fingers but little did it help. The blackness closed in on him and he saw æ2tiny explosions in his peripheral vision. He couldn't breathe, for Christ sake. Far away in the distance he heard someone yell. He couldn't hear what or who, but someone was there. The blood rushed through his ears and his eyes couldn't see anything now. He couldn't breathe, his mind screamed he was going to die, that he had to do something. He couldn't do anything, his body wouldn't listen, he had to free himself. The next second he could feel himself float midair, until he crashed to the floor. Suddenly he could breathe and he swallowed down the air in big greedy mouthfuls, which made him cough because his throat burned. He felt someone's hands on his chest and shoulders, pressing him down to the floor. He didn't have the strength to fight them anymore and as his vision and hearing gradually came back he realized he didn't have to. Eddie was leaning over him, talking to him, her hands checking him for injuries. A red streak trickled down her chin from her hairline. Jamie couldn't separate the words but he nodded anyway. Another face joined Eddie's above him started talking urgently to him.

"I'm fine, Danny," he wanted to say, but all that came out was a hoarse whisper and a gut wrenching cough.

"Sure you are, kid," Danny replied and padded him on his shoulder. "I'll call it in," he continued to Eddie and got to his feet.

 **Friday, September 1** **st** **, 08:30 pm, Flatiron District**

" _Go easy on him, Danny,_ " Frank sighed on the line when Danny stepped out of his car, into the rain.

"Of course… it won't be more than ten minutes shoptalk," Danny replied and grabbed the six pack from the other seat together with the folder and two coffee cups. The latter was for the two uniforms in the cruiser.

" _Great. Call me back when you are leaving,_ " Frank said. Danny realized he couldn't carry all of it at once and was just about to finish the call when he heard two muffled barks from a gun. Instinctively he ducked and looked at the windows to Jamie's place. His blood froze solid in just a second. " _Danny?_ " Frank almost yelled. He had heard it too.

"I'm fine… call for back up," Danny replied urgently and dropped what was in his hands. He slammed the door and ran for the door. Not even a minute later he had reached the right floor and drew his weapon before he entered the open door to Jamie's apartment.

"Jamie?" he called and noticed how his own voice had changed.

"In here," he heard Eddie call and he quickly moved ahead. Eddie was kneeling on the floor next to a very dazed Jamie. A huge man in had collapsed on the floor in front of them. He had landed on and trashed the coffee table and a bottle of beer was rolling aimlessly around. Danny could see the two shot closely together in the man's back.

"What happened? You all right?" Danny asked them and kneeled on the other side of Jamie when he holstered his weapon. "Don't move, kid," he said and Jamie tried to reply with his usual 'I'm fine'. He would have succeeded if he had had his voice and didn't cough up his intestines.

"Sure you are, kid," Danny replied when the coughing subsided and Danny padded him on his shoulder. "I'll call it in," he continued to Eddie and got to his feet. He forced himself to relax when he heard the approaching sirens. It sounded like there could be a dozen squad cars out there. He guessed that was what happened when the PC called in a 'shots fired, possible 10-13'. Danny grabbed his phone and redialed his last conversation. Before the first ring had finished he heard Frank's voice in his ear.

" _Is he all right, Danny?_ "

"Yeah, he'll be fine…" Danny replied and couldn't stop smiling. He could hear the relief in his dad'. "Looks like Eddie shot the guy, the one from the sketch," he continued and looked at the couple on the floor. Officers spilled in through the door and Danny moved his jacket, so they could see his shield. They too relaxed and one of them called a bus.

" _Oh, thank, God,_ " Frank sighed and could almost have laughed.

"Yeah, lucky bastard," Danny replied and disconnected the call when he returned to his brother, now leaning on the back of the couch with an arm wrapped around his chest.

"What did I say last night, about you walking around like a cat with ten lives, huh?" Danny asked with a grin.

"Very funny, Danny... I think we need to go higher," Jamie smiled at his brother before he left again. He turned his gaze to Eddie on his other side. He lifted a hand to examine the cut on her hairline.

"Did I tell you how much I love you, Eddie?" he asked her when he his eyes locked on hers. Eddie froze for a second but then smiled.

"No, we didn't really get around to that," she replied with a smile when he pulled her in for a kiss.

"I love you, Eddie Janko," he whispered between the kisses.

"I love you too, Reagan," she mumbled when they separated, just as medics walked through the door and got to work on Jamie. The big guy was dead as a doornail and despite his size, only a little bit of blood had oozed out on the floor. One of the medics pressed a cooling bag, wrapped in a towel, in Eddie's hand and she pressed it gently to the wound on her head. She hadn't really realized how much it hurt until then, because she took in a sharp breath and cringed.

"Hey, Eddie, can you tell me what happened?" Danny ask her and she nodded distantly before she turned.

"We had just ordered pizza, so when it knocked on the door, I thought it was the delivery. When I opened the door, he forced himself inside and threw me at the wall. I think, I might have passed out for a minute or so. Next thing I see is the guy strangling Jamie. I knew Jamie had a weapon in his gym bag which was right in front of me and then…" she trailed of, knowing that Danny knew the rest of the story.

"Thank you,"

 **Sunday, September 3** **rd** **, 06:00 pm, Bay Ridge**

"I have to say, Eddie, it's really good to have here," Erin said when she sliced the roast. Eddie stopped mixing the salad for a moment.

"It's great to be here," she replied and smiled at Erin. Linda and Nicky came through the door after walking in the bread and the potatoes.

"Everything set?" Linda asked when Nicky grabbed the beverages from the fridge.

"Ready," Erin and Eddie said at once.

"They are starving," Linda laughed when she helped Nicky out. 'They' would be the remaining six Reagan's in the living room, all of them laughing and shouting at the game in the TV.

"Sometimes I wonder, if they ever get something to eat," Erin laughed when she followed with the roast.

"I swear, I don't know where Danny puts all the food he's devouring. And the boys are starting to eat just like him," Linda said when Eddie put the salad on the table.

"I heard that," Danny called when he strolled into the dining room with. "And I've heard a little rumor, that I'm getting a run for my money tonight," he joked and looked at Eddie with a smile.

"What, Danny, are you scared of my girlfriend?" Jamie joked back when he followed his brother.

"Hell no… she's tiny," Danny replied with a laugh.

"Oh oh, watch out," Jamie laughed.

"You are going to regret that," Eddie threatened with a smile.

"Game on, Janko," Danny countered.

"He won't know what hit him," Jamie whispered loudly and had to duck from a playful punch from his brother, which made him winch. The doctor hadn't been happy to see Jamie again, which made it three visits in one week. His ribs were still bothering him, but he couldn't stop smiling, as the rest of the family trotted into the room and found their seats.

"The service was beautiful today, don't you think?" Linda asked and received agreeing nods and murmuring from around the table.

"Indeed it was," Frank replied and was only happy to have all his family assembled. This week had been from hell, to put it mildly.

"Who would like to say grace?" Henry asked the family around the table. The decision fell on Nicky and she said it beautifully. They all repeated her last word, amen, and followed suit with the sign of the cross. They ate for a few minutes until Frank cleared his throat.

"On behalf of everyone around this table, I would like to thank you, Eddie, for everything you've done," Frank began and kept his eyes on the blonde sitting between Jamie and Nicky. "This week, which hasn't been the best, could have been a whole lot worse, if you hadn't been partnered with Jamie," he continued and went silent for a few moments, reflecting. "I'm honored to have you on the force and around this table," He said while he lifted his napkin and revealed a small, flat box. He handed it to Erin on his right, who passed it along to Nicky and then to Eddie, who looked at it with big eyes when she held it in her hand. "Which is why, I'd like to give you the Medal for Valor," he continued and nodded to her. Everybody around the table looked at her when she opened the box with shaky fingers and looked at the medal. A tiny gasp escaped her lips and she cleared her throat when she looked at Frank.

"Thank you, Sir, it's an honor…" she said. She was at a loss for words, she didn't even know what to do.

"Congratulations, you've earned it," Frank replied with a smile. She hadn't just deserved to get the medal, she had earned it. Just like she had earned his trust. The Reagan's trust. She was part of the family now.

 _I really hoped you enjoyed this story, and I hope to not disappoint you in the future. You have all been a really amazing audience and I couldn't have finished this without your always positive response. Any last reviews? /K. :)_


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